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1[[quoteright:243:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Twisted_Metal_002_6741.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:243:''[[Music/TheRollingStonesBand ♫ I see a line of cars and they're all painted black... ♫]]'']]
3
4->''Style, sophistication, the ability to launch napalm into oncoming traffic. If these are the things you look for in an automobile, it's time you test drive ''Twisted Metal''.''
5-->-- Commercial for ''Twisted Metal 2''
6
7Dubbed "''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' with cars", ''Twisted Metal'' is a series of demolition derby games that allows the player to choose from various vehicles armed with guns, missiles, and other weapons. The prize? You get one wish from the man in charge, Calypso. You can wish for anything you want in the world, no matter what the cost, how rare it is, or impossible it would be to obtain. But BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor, you might be surprised at what you get.
8
9''Twisted Metal 1'' first appeared on Platform/PlayStation in 1995. It and its immediate sequel ''Twisted Metal 2'' were created by Singletrac, and were regarded as the best in the series. After those, Creator/NineEightNineStudios took over and made ''Twisted Metal 3'' and ''4'', which changed, among other things, the graphics to a more "3D" look ([[SpritePolygonMix while the first two were in 3D, things like weapon pickups were 2D sprites]]), several characters' backstories, and in ''4'', even the origin of the wish-granting magic. ''Twisted Metal'' changed hands once again, this time back to the original developers (then known as [[Creator/IncognitoEntertainment Incognito, Inc.]]), who released ''Twisted Metal Black'' for Platform/PlayStation2. ''Black'' was considered DarkerAndEdgier, even in a series revolving around killing anything and anyone that moves, due to new takes on characters and their backstories. Shortly after, ''Twisted Metal Head-On'' was released for PSP, which "went back to the series' roots," and takes place directly after ''Twisted Metal 2'', making ''3'' and ''4'' CanonDiscontinuity.
10
11The eighth entry into the series, simply titled ''Twisted Metal'', was released on Valentine's Day 2012.
12
13A [[Series/TwistedMetal2023 live action television adaptation]] was released on Peacock from Creator/SonyPicturesTelevision and Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment’s [=PlayStation=] Studios division on July 27 2023. Starring Creator/AnthonyMackie as John Doe, it was developed by Rhett Reese and Paul Wenrick (''Film/{{Zombieland}}, ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}), written by ''Series/CobraKai'' veteran Michael Jonathan Smith, and featured Creator/WillArnett as executive producer.
14
15----
16!!Examples:
17[[foldercontrol]]
18[[folder:A-D]]
19* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: ''Black'' has a sewer level with tunnels large enough to drive a semi truck in.
20* AllJustADream:
21** From various in-game hints, ''Black'' seems to occur completely in Needles Kane's head.
22** In ''2'', the driver of Roadkill [[spoiler:wakes up from a coma caused by a massive highway pileup, giving the impression that the competition happened in his head, with the other drivers involved being the other contestants]]. [[OrWasItADream However, Marcus' ending shows a brief glimpse of Calypso's burning eyes.]]..
23* AllStereotypeCast: ''Twisted Metal 3'' alone includes a stereotypical raver, a sexy environmentalist GranolaGirl, a "get off my lawn"-type granny, a black guy from "the hood" who wants to "kick it with his homies in the crib", an expy of [[Music/TheProdigy The Prodigy]]'s frontman, a burly construction worker, a ComicBook/GhostRider expy and a [[CrazyHomelessPeople crazy deranged homeless guy]].
24* AlphaBitch: Krista/Dollface in the 2012 reboot, to a psychopathic[=/=]AxCrazy degree. She feels that she deserves to become a supermodel due to her hard work... her definition of which includes sabotaging her rivals and, at times, outright murdering them.
25* AlternateContinuity: The series is currently set in three different continuities:
26** The original timeline consists of ''Twisted Metal'', ''Twisted Metal 2'' and ''Twisted Metal Head-On'', following a (sometimes very loosely) story centered on Calypso's tournament and a few recurring character plots (most notably Axel, Krista Sparks and the Roberts siblings). ''Small Brawl'' is often considered a SpinoffBabies GaidenGame as most drivers appear to be child versions of the main series' characters, although [[spoiler:Spectre's ending reveals he's the son of one of the ''Twisted Metal II'' contestants, so it may be set at the end of the timeline]]. Regardless, this is often agreed to be just a little EasterEgg and the game to be a non-canonical entry.
27** ''Twisted Metal Black'' is set in a separate, DarkerAndEdgier continuity with none of the original's goofyness, with the game claiming to be set [[spoiler:inside the deranged mind of Sweet Tooth]]. ''Twisted Metal Lost'' (what remains of an intended sequel to ''Black'' released as a bonus in the [=PlayStation=] 2 port of ''Head-On'') is a direct sequel, although not every fan accepts it as a proper entry.
28** the 2012 ''Twisted Metal'' is a ContinuityReboot with a more demonic Calypso with no ties to previous continuities. [[spoiler:Outside of a little EasterEgg showing several items from the previous timelines as part of Calypso's collection. How serious this is taken to imply a larger Multiverse is at work also depends on who you ask.]]
29** ''Twisted Metal III'' and ''IV'' [[CanonDiscontinuity do not exist in any of them.]] ''III'' was originally set as a direct sequel to ''II'', with some returning character wishes (like Axel and Captain Rogers) carrying over. ''IV'' is often agreed to be a follow-up, but in truth it was likely intended to be a full-on reboot set on its own continuity as well. [[note]]Looking closely at the date of the newspaper seen on the intro reveals Calypso was deposed around May 10 1999, which doesn't work with ''Twisted Metal III'' where Calypso explicity says in the first stage that it happens 18 months after 2007, or the other games which are set in 2005 and beyond.[[/note]]
30** Although not a game, the TV series is also set on a very different continuity that shares very little elements in common from the games, with a large number of characters being InNameOnly.
31* AnimeHair: Dollface in reboot sports bright pink hair.
32* AncientEgypt: Serves as a stage in both ''Twisted Metal III'' and ''Head-On''.
33* {{Anticlimax}}: PlayedForLaughs in Thumper's "Lost Ending", when Bruce refuses to shoot the man who kidnapped his girlfriend after Calypso offers him a gun and instead leaves with her…
34-->'''Calypso''': That was anticlimactic! *Aims gun at the kidnapper*\
35'''Kidnapper''': [[OhCrap Oh my god…]]\
36[=*=]Calypso starts opening fire on him*
37* {{Area 51}}: Hangar 18 (with a huge alien spaceship on its center) serves as a stage in ''Twisted Metal III''.
38* AndIMustScream:
39** Outlaw's fate in the Lost Ending has Captain Roberts wish for a world without Twisted Metal, just like in the real game's ending. ''Un''like it, however, Roberts gets trapped in a black void instead of getting shot into space.
40** Everyone who dies in the tournament is subjected to this in the reboot, being trapped inside of Calypso's painting and held in asylum-like cells in what looks like Hell. Previous games imply this to be the case with their own forms of YourSoulIsMine, but the reboot explicitly shows the deceased as being in agony.
41** Mr. Grimm suffers this in ''2'', wishing for TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt to get his soul-collecting fix, but with the human race being entirely wiped out, he's left to starve for eternity.
42* ArtifactName: The Spectre car only had a driver that fit its ghostly theme in the first game, with the spirit of Scott Campbell behind the wheel. Since then, it's only been driven by a fame-hungry actor, a psychotic bridesmaid and a greedy CasanovaWannabe, though Bloody Mary may have been named after a famous spiritual urban legend. At least in ''Small Brawl'', the "driver" does dress like a BedsheetGhost.
43* ArtisticLicenseBiology: ''Black''. Mr Grimm wears the skull of his dead friend Benny as a helmet, but the cutscenes showing Benny when he was alive reveal his head was normal, the same size as Grimm's. Somehow, said skull at least doubled in size after his death, making it large enough to be worn. The skull seems to have stitches in it, perhaps implying Grimm broke it apart and put it back together so it would fit, but even that explanation is a stretch of what's possible in real life.
44* AsHimself: Music/RobZombie is a playable character in ''4''.
45* AvengingTheVillain: [[spoiler:Needles' son wants to kill Calypso for killing [[YouKilledMyFather his father.]]]]
46* AwesomeButImpractical: The Talon in the 2012 game; it's a helicopter, so while it can assault others from the sky, it also has the disadvantage of being slow, and its machine gun Special Weapon requires you to manually aim at your target while also leaving you in place for them to retaliate, and it's also difficult to avoid Freeze Missiles, which cause it to fall to the ground.
47* BackFromTheDead:
48** Krista Sparks and Simon Whittlebone, the drivers of Grasshopper and Mr. Slam respectively, return as ghosts in ''Head-On''. Preacher returns this way in 'Lost'', the bonus ''Black'' pseudo-sequel game included in ''Head-On''.
49** Scott Campbell in the original game is a ghost driving Spectre, wishing to be brought back to life after he was murdered.
50** [[spoiler:Calypso resurrects Sophie Kane in the reboot.]]
51* BadBoss: Both Needles and Dollface in the reboot are revealed to be pretty dickish towards their [[{{Sidekick}} gunners]]. The former killed off his gunner after he finished planting the C4 under the remaining Grimm Brother to detonate the bomb. The latter shot her gunner after defeating the Carnival of Carnage. Seems that only the 'asshole' Mr. Grimm [[OnlySaneMan isn't such an asshole he claims to be]]. In fact, he would have let his men who were driving the "Brothers Grimm" Monster Trucks enter the next tournament, had they killed Needles.
52** Mr. Creel from ''[[DarkerandEdgier Black]]'' counts. ''[[DisproportionateRetribution He nails a mask to his intern's face for spilling coffee all over his papers!]]''
53* BadassDriver: The entire cast.
54** BadassBiker: Mr. Grimm.
55* BattleRoyaleGame: The series' primary game mode; your goal in each level is to be the last car standing, with all vehicles treating each other as enemies and the player having the luxury of extra lives (in singleplayer). The singleplayer AI tends to [[GangUpOnTheHuman focus on the player]] as not to allow them to exploit the AI and let the enemy cars take care of each other.
56* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The characters get their wishes granted, but not how they imagined them. Arguably one of the main themes of the series.
57** Generally averted when the desire is to take vengeance or otherwise allow others to come to harm (as is usually the case with [[MonsterClown Needles Kane]], the driver of Sweet Tooth).
58** Played straight in ''3''. Every ending was scripted the same way: car gets in, Calypso states the winner's wish, then cue to {{pun}} as Calypso gets the last laugh. Taken to such extreme that some drivers ask for completely random stuff (Auger's driver entered to get revenge for his buildings being destroyed, but he wishes to "connect to his inner child"...).
59** In ''2'', [[spoiler:Mr. Grimm, who feeds on the souls of the dead, wishes to feast -- which leads to humanity wiping itself out. He gets his feast, but after that there are no more humans to die, and thus, no more souls to feed on, leaving him to starve.]]
60** Of course, in the first game Calypso really did seem to grant the wishes without a catch for the most part. And occasionally, while he deliberately ignores the thought or intention behind a wish, he does something fairly harmless - like giving Axel a pizza or sending Needles to the dentist.
61** [[spoiler:Sweet Tooth]] is a half-and-half guy; plays ball sometimes, screws them over sometimes, and even rejects their wishes twice. This distribution is not based on Alignment.
62** The 2012 reboot only has three drivers, and all three endings involve this trope. Oddly, despite the reboot being up there with ''Black'' as one of the darkest games in the series, Calypso seems to be at his least outwardly malicious here; the wishes going wrong are as much the fault of the people making them as the man granting them.
63*** Sweet Tooth: [[spoiler:He finally found the one who got away after ten long years. Waking up confused in a casket and asking where his prize was, Calypso drops the ball on him: after the attack, Sophie Kane checked out of the psych ward and committed suicide. Sweet Tooth was condemned to share the casket with Sophie's rotted corpse. (At least, until Marcus' surviving son Charlie digs the grave up to retrieve the mask and vow revenge...)]]
64*** Grimm: [[spoiler:Daniel Grimm got his wish to go back and keep his father from dying in the stunt accident. But Calypso set him in the backseat of his dad's truck, and his appearance caused father Grimm to try and fight him off, resulting in a crash that killed his father anyway. Both versions of Daniel survived... until the younger version took his father's hidden revolver and shot the older version dead.]]
65*** Dollface: [[spoiler:As she progressed through the contest, Krista Sparks became torn between either finally having her mask removed or succumbing to her ego and wishing to become the most famous supermodel in the world. She chose the latter, figuring that removing the mask would just leave her where she was before her accident, dealing with all manner of upstarts trying to bring her down on their way to the top. And so, she wished to be put on the world's biggest runway in hopes of instantly becoming famous. Just her luck, she should've specified "catwalk" instead of "runway", because she ends up on an ''airport'' runway. She tried to run away as an airplane started to land, but in a twist of cruel irony, one of her heels broke off. The fall sealed her fate and she was splattered beneath the plane's landing gear. Afterwards, we hear people talking about her grisly death on the radio, indicating that she became "famous" the same way the Black Dahlia did. The saddest irony? The mask finally did come off. Calypso later gets ahold of it, as it is seen being displayed in his trophy case with items from many other previous contestants.]]
66* BedlamHouse:
67** Blackfield Asylum, of course.
68** [[spoiler:It seems that Calypso has the Preacher from the reboot sent to this during the ending. And then the camera scales back, and back... and back, revealing that it's actually Hell.]]
69* BeingGodIsHard: Not so much of a god as he is more of a deity, but Mr. Grimm accidentally devoured a soul he was supposed to deliver, and has been addicted to devouring souls since then. He then entered the tournament so that he can wish for someone else to take his job. Bottom line, he entered the tournament to quit being ''the'' Grim Reaper.
70* BigBad: Calypso in all the games. However, in ''4'' the roles are switched between Calypso and Needles Kane ([[IAmNotShazam referred to as Sweet Tooth in this game]]).
71* BigScrewedUpFamily:
72** The Kanes. Needles Kane (the driver of Sweet Tooth) is a serial killer, and Charlie Kane is either an old drunkard taxi driver turned insane (main series) or a dead zombie remote-controlled by his son (''Black'' continuity). Marcus Kane seems to avert this [[spoiler:until we learn that he and Needles are the same person, just two different personalities.]]
73** And in the reboot, [[spoiler:his son, Charlie, takes over his father's (Needles specifically) place and Calypso resurrects his daughter, Sophie, as a female version of the titular clown.]]
74** In a manner of speaking, The Joneses from ''4'' also qualify. Damn tourists. Sweet Tooth was right to drive them all off a cliff at his own expense!
75* BlackAndGreyMorality: While some of the drivers have more admirable goals than others, even the most noble are willing to go along with the loss of life and destruction that the Twisted Metal tournament entails.
76* BloodSport: The first two games were actually played as such, with cheering crowds in a couple of levels.
77* BloodierAndGorier: The original games were usually reserved to blood puddles and explosions with few exceptions. ''Black'' and the 2012 reboot changes this up a bit with a lot more violent scenes in addition to being DarkerAndEdgier.
78* BonusFeatureFailure: The hidden characters of ''Black'' except for Yellow Jacket are missing introduction movies and character bios; ''all'' of them are missing mid-game cutscenes to follow the boss fight against Minion; and the [=FMVs=] they ''do'' have are very cheap-looking compared to those of the normal drivers.
79** The Boss Characters in ''4'' don't have specific ending [=FMVs=] either, it's the generic one also used when playing with a custom car.
80* BossInMooksClothing: Juggernaut in the reboot certainly counts if you're fighting against it in the campaign. [[SuperToughness An already tough vehicle]] which can dish out tremendous damage by just [[CarFu ramming you]], it also always has its trigun and quad cannon activated (both capable of spamming TONS of [[MoreDakka bullets]] and [[MacrossMissileMassacre swarmers]]) and is bound to be a MookMaker. If that wasn't bad enough, its weakpoints are pretty hard to hit; its trailer doors open for a brief moment when releasing [[{{Mook}} mooks]] and trying to attack it head-on is usually near suicide.
81* BountyHunter: Quatro in ''Twisted Metal IV'' is an interstellar alien bounty hunter.
82* {{Bowdlerise}}:
83** Due to their ''very'' graphic and unsettling nature, the PAL version of ''Black'' saw the removal of character [=FMVs=].
84** Also the story behind the "Lost Endings" for ''Twisted Metal 1'', with the higher ups objecting against them due to the violence and {{Stripperific}} chicks appearing in them.
85* BroadStrokes: ''1'', ''2'' and ''Head-On'' share a loose continuity, with plenty of story bits changing as the developers saw fit. the first game is hit the worst, as ''II'' established several storyline bits that completely ignore or contradict it, such as Calypso having a deal with Mr. Grimm or the way he gained his powers, so it's often not easy to fit them all neatly into a single timeline. Not helping matters is how a few recurring characters (most notably Sweet Tooth) [[CharacterizationMarchesOn change radically]] between games with no explanation.
86* TheCameo: The final boss of ''Black'' is a large assault chopper called Warhawk; ''VideoGame/{{Warhawk}}'' is a small series of Sony-platform games created by Singletrac/Incog where the player pilots such a vehicle.
87* CanonDiscontinuity: ''Twisted Metal: Head-On'' acts as a direct sequel to ''II'', totally ignoring ''Twisted Metal III'' & ''IV''. David Jaffe in the ''Twisted Metal: The Dark Past'' series documentary has nothing nice to say about these two games, as neither him nor his staff were part of its developments.
88* CarFu:
89** It's an option with every vehicle, but a few have it as part of their Special Weapons arsenal. Darkside, Hammerhead and Mr. Slam are the most notable examples, and in ''Black'', Axel and Yellowjacket have secondary CarFu modes as hidden moves. Grasshopper's special attack in ''2'' and ''Head-On'', meanwhile, involves launching her buggy into the air and landing on enemies. Melee combat is particularly important in the first game, where most of the devastating weapons of the later games do not exist yet and many special weapons are useless. When you are in a semi truck and all you have is a wimpy firebolt as your weapon, you probably want to hit the turbo and plow into people instead.
90** It's even more prevalent than ever in the 2012 reboot. Larger vehicles like Darkside and his bigger brother Juggernaut, are capable of dishing out enough damage with a single ram to knock off at least 50% of another vehicle's armor.
91* CatapultToGlory: Brimstone's special weapon involves launching a crucified sinner through the air who then latches onto your vehicle and ritualistically kamikaze's with dynamite while yelling "Repent!" on contact with enemies.
92* ChaoticCarRide: [[ParodiedTrope Spoofed]] in ''Twisted Metal 4''. The game introduces a boorish and obnoxious suburban family known as the Joneses as playable characters. In their ending, they wish for [[MonsterClown Sweet Tooth]] to become their personal chauffeur. The family's shrill singing during car trips annoys Sweet Tooth so much that he deliberately drives their van off a cliff, [[UncertainDoom presumably]] [[TakingYouWithMe killing them all]].
93* CharacterCustomization: Amazingly present in ''4''. However, it's ''extremely'' primitive, with few options for your vehicle and only four breeds of special weapon from which to select.
94* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
95** In the first game, Calypso just grants the wishes straight-up, without any twists or manipulation... [[spoiler:save for Outlaw]]. In the "lost endings", he's more of a dick, granting and then subverting the wishes (what he does to Scott Campbell is outright KickTheDog). It's only with the second game that he becomes the master of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and LiteralGenie. Heck, in the third game '''all''' of the endings for the drivers are a case of JerkassGenie at the hands of Calypso's wish giving, [[InsaneTrollLogic even when the wish they make is as clear as crystal]].
96** The first game plays "Needles" Kane's psychosis purely for laughs, ''especially'' in the dumped live action endings. The second game added in the perma-burning scalp, but still treated him as an actual clown with murderous tendencies. It wasn't until ''Black'' that he was fully transformed into the very definition of a MonsterClown, both in backstory AND in-game.
97* CompositeCharacter: Dollface in the reboot has the mask of the ''Twisted Metal: Black'' Dollface, but shares her name (Krista Sparks) with an unrelated character from ''2'' and ''Head-On'', and her motivations (pursuit of fame) call to mind the driver of Spectre in ''2''.
98* ContinuityNod: In the 2012 reboot, Mr. Grimm's story shows Calypso's office. He has kept mementos of past drivers and Twisted Metal Contests from the ''1'' to ''Head-On'' and ''Black'' continuities. Among the items we have:
99** From the first ''Twisted Metal'': Sweet Tooth's imaginary friend Crazy Harold the Wacky Lunch Sack, Crimson Fury/Warthog's black box and Spectre/Yellow Jacket's vial of potion (from the live-action endings)
100** From ''Twisted Metal 2'': Twister's fossilized helmet, Hammerhead's plane tickets and some bricks from Simon Whittlebone's tower.
101** From ''Twisted Metal: Black'': The girl's teddy bear from Stone's story (though it could also be Krista's teddy bear from ''Head-On''), No-Face's surgical boxing gloves, Raven's voodoo dolls, John Doe's wallet, and Mr. Creole's key to Dollface's mask.
102** From the 2012 game: Sweet Tooth's Machetes, Mr. Grimm's father's license plate, Dollface's mask.
103* ConvectionSchmonvection: The Amazon level from ''II'' and Tokyo from ''III''. While driving over lava will damage your vehicle, driving next to it won't do anything, and even vehicles with open cockpits like Mr Grimm or Axel, the driver is unharmed.
104* ComicBookAdaptation: A tie-in comic for ''Twisted Metal 2'' came out back in its time as a giveaway prize. It focus on Calypso's StartOfDarkness and how he become the host of the tournament.
105* CoolCar: Virtually every vehicle in the series.
106** CoolBike: Mr. Grimm.
107** CoolPlane: Warhawk in ''Black''. The [=PS3=] game adds the Talon, a helicopter.
108** TankGoodness: Minion, usually. Warthog to a lesser extent (if it's not a tank, it's a hummer.)
109* CoolSidecar: [[GrimReaper Mr. Grimm's]] motorcycle from most games has a sidecar attached, which holds a [[GatlingGood gatling gun]].
110* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
111** In 2012, if you watch one of the AI opponents, you will notice they can re spawn their special weapons almost instantly. With one time using its special five times in one go just after the match started. It is also able to use other items without having to previously acquire them.
112** They do that in all Twisted Metals, in 2012 they also do more damage, gang up on you, and can use the sniper rifle instantly without charging it (which is an instant death) and many times there is no laser to warn you. If this happens you have to restart completely.
113** The CPU in ''III'' has infinite items at their disposal, including their specials. Just trying to survive Club Kid after he drops a dozen of his Portals sucking up all others into a vortex of flying cars is barely possible with the highest-armored vehicles.
114* CrapsackWorld:
115** Every stage. If they aren't when the match begins, they sure as hell are when it ends.
116** Straight up the whole setting of Midtown in ''Black'', a rundown industrial town plagued by crime.
117* CurseCutShort: "Shut up and ''bleed'', you motherfu--[ScareChord]"
118* CypherLanguage: How Minion communicates to the player during ''Black'''s loading screens. 1=A, 2=B, etc.
119* DarkerAndEdgier: Applies to ''Black'', with {{Downer Ending}}s and NightmareFuel galore. It's the first game in the series to get an M rating (''[[{{Gorn}} for good reason]]''), and it is the first game in the series with [[PlayedForDrama absolutely no humor whatsoever]], being for the most part relatively grim and depressing. ''Head-On'' along with the 2012 reboot, while also dark, would both return the series to its more [[RuleOfCool awesome and action-packed]] roots.
120** Openly invoked when discussing ''Black'' in the documentary "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9iJGPfvw2A The Dark Past]]": "A lot of times you think that, when someone has these kind of ideas, you're thinking 'Are they trying too hard to edgy, and cool, and not nerd-like, or [[MyGodYouAreSerious do they really kind of think this way?]]'"
121* DarkMessiah: As explained by Calypso in the reboot, The Clowns worship Needles Kane, going so far as to build a horrifyingly huge robot circus tent in his image. They are even convinced that, just like the MessianicArchetype he will one day return (might be true, [[spoiler:if you consider either Charlie or Sophie...]]). But we all know that Needles is just an AxCrazy MonsterClown SplitPersonality who [[spoiler:killed most of his alter ego's family]] and doesn't give a shit about [[BadBoss killing his own men for his own gain]].
122* TheDeathOfDeath: A {{downplayed|Trope}} example in ''Head On''. If Mr. Grimm wins the Twisted Metal tournament, he wishes for somebody else to take his role as the grim reaper. When Calypso grants his wish, a nearby girl is turned into the reaper while Mr. Grimm is turned into a mortal human being. Unfortunately for him, he is almost immediately killed by a truck.
123* DenserAndWackier:
124** ''Twisted Metal 4'' pretty much did away with most of the original cast, save for Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm and Calypso, and just went with an entire cast that looked like it came from a Carnival freakshow. Justified in that it was ''[[AxCrazy Sweet]] [[MonsterClown Tooth]]'' who now ran Twisted Metal.
125** ''Twisted Metal: Lost'' is this to ''Black'', albeit still keeping with the dark tone. In ''Black'', every character is a normal human and, with the exceptions of [[spoiler:Outlaw and Shadow's endings]], none of the character's wishes are supernatural in nature and can be explained by Calypso having really good connections. ''Lost'', on the other hand, has things like Preacher coming BackFromTheDead, John Doe being a part of a CloneArmy, Black being sent from AnotherDimension by another Calypso to kill this dimension's Calypso, and new character Severed Sam still being able to compete despite [[OffWithHisHead getting decapitated]].
126* DidntSeeThatComing:
127** Every game includes one or two endings where Calypso [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPzQk-Nap34&feature=related has the tables turned on him.]]
128** Averted in ''Twisted Metal 3''. He wins EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
129** Averted again in the reboot, ironically. He also wins EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Though less jarring than in [=TM3=], since for the most part, it was a case of Karmic Justice. And the endings are written '''a lot''' more competently than in ''3''.
130** Sweet Tooth is not exempt from this in ''Twisted Metal 4'' either when he runs the competition. A few of the endings screw him over.
131* DistaffCounterpart: Sophie Kane is revived as a female version of Needles in the ending of the 2012 reboot.
132* DullSurprise: Every single ending in ''Twisted Metal 3''. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaFKLhJ2kaY here.]]
133* DysfunctionJunction: The starting characters and two of the secret characters in [[DarkerandEdgier Twisted Metal: Black]] are institutionalized for various reasons and suffer from various disorders. The rest aren't much better; Cage is a serial killer who wishes to no longer feel remorse for his crimes, and the only things Black knows how to do is eat, crap, and kill. Marcus Kane is essentially the same he was in 2, except he speaks in code to disguise himself.
134[[/folder]]
135[[folder:E-I]]
136* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Several examples to be found in the original.
137** The first game is less silly than the rest of the series, playing up its BloodSport nature, lacks or implements differently several gameplay features and has a major case of CharacterizationMarchesOn.
138** The game quite barebones in content, lacking the co-op and deathmatch modes, leaving just the tournament and duel modes.
139** Energy abilities such as the shield, jumping and invisibility were not a thing in the first game, and rear-firing missiles, freeze missiles and land mines were regular weapon pickups instead. Other pickups included tire spikes, oil slicks and jumppads, none of which would reappear in a later game.
140** Your opponent in the arena duel is the only randomly picked opponent in the game. After that, each level has assigned opponents which vary depending on the car you're playing as.
141** Calypso is less of a JerkassGenie in the final game's text endings than he would later be, with Outlaw's wish being the only one Calypso intentionally twisted against the driver.
142* EasyModeMockery: When played on Easy, the second game ends just after the first boss with a big stop sign featuring the message "No losers allowed beyond this point". The third game has less harsh version of this, where you can play the whole game, but you won't get an ending after beating it.
143* EnergyWeapon: Besides being the special of a few cars throughout the series, it's the special weapon pickup in the Tokyo (shot from a satellite dish) and Egypt (shot from the tip of the pyramid) stages in ''Twisted Metal 3''.
144* EvilVersusEvil: A few of the games pit a psychopathic MonsterClown versus a LiteralGenie empowered by a demon against one another. Considering that most of the other racers are [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] at best, this trope is widespread.
145* ExactWords: When you meet Calypso, you need to be ''very'' careful how you word your wish...
146* ExpansionPack: ''Twisted Metal Black Online'', which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
147* {{Expy}}: Mr. Grimm in ''Twisted Metal 2'' bears a striking resemblance to the Comicbook/GhostRider. When you select him on the car select screen, his skull even catches fire. Needles Kane is an expy of the ComicBook/TheJoker, at least in the earlier games.
148** Needles Kane may in fact have been based off of real-life serial killer clown [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy John Wayne Gacy]]
149* EyeScream:
150** No-Face from ''Black'' had his eyes and tongue removed by [[spoiler:a back alley doctor who lost $20,000 betting on him in a boxing match]], although [[DisabilitySuperpower he can still see well enough to drive]]. Also, Shadow's ending in ''Black'' features [[spoiler:Raven using voodoo dolls to gouge out the eyes of the two punks who killed her best friend Kelly, then implying that she will do the same to her parents]].
151** The [[AllThereInTheManual manual]] clarifies that No-Face has some sort of psychic ability that lets him 'know' where everyone is so he can drive his car.
152** This is how Sophie was able to escape from Needles; she stabbed him in the eye.
153* FaceOnTheCover: Needles' grinning visage is the centerpiece of all game covers.
154* {{Flanderization}}: In the first game, Calypso pretty much granted everyone's wish as they wanted, only twisting Outlaw's words because he wanted the contest to end (he wished to be in "a world without Twisted Metal", so Calypso sent him into space). By the next game, Calypso starts [[LiteralGenie twisting almost everyone's words]] for [[ForTheEvulz no real reason.]] It soon became a defining characteristic of the franchise's endings.
155* {{Foreshadowing}}:
156** In ''Black'', the police helicopter [[FinalBoss Warhawk's]] arrival is foreshadowed by Bloody Mary's level quote, but she's too delusional to realize this herself.
157-->"From here, I can hear the sound of wedding bells. They're a lot like police sirens...I never noticed that before."
158** In the 2012 game as Sweet Tooth attempts to kill the one that got away, [[spoiler:blood splatters on the family picture of the Kanes, covering up the members he killed. Aside from himself and Sophie, Charlie also remains visible and not covered in blood. In the ending, it's revealed that Sweet Tooth only cut him and let him live as a potential heir.]]
159* FragileSpeedster: Twister, Crimson Fury, ATV and Quattro, among others. Indy cars and motorcycles tend to be poorly armored.
160* FreakyFridayFlip: [[spoiler:Needles Kane's]] ''Head On'' ending. Calypso, in [[spoiler:Needles Kane's body,]] is then killed when...
161-->'''Calypso:''' "Guards! Kill the intruder!"
162-->'''[[spoiler:Needles Kane]]:''' "Oooh, good idea! Do that!"
163-->''Calypso is promptly gunned down by his old guards.''
164* FreestateAmsterdam: ''Twisted Metal 2'' stage "Holland: Field of Screams" which consists of [[MundaneMadeAwesome several tulip fields and a pair of windmills]].
165* FriendOrIdolDecision: Dollface in ''Black'' has the chance to obtain the key to unlock her mask, [[spoiler:but [[AssholeVictim at the life of her former boss]], [[BadBoss who put the thing on her in the first place]]. [[KickTheSonOfABitch She takes the key, killing him]], [[ShaggyDogStory but decides that she doesn't want it anyway]], saying that the mask will never grow old and ugly, while her normal face will.]] Although in ''Twisted Metal: Lost'', this was revealed to be a bad decision, because as Dollface found out, [[spoiler:while the mask will never age, it will never grow either, while her ''skull'' still is. After the 8-10 year TimeSkip between ''Black'' and ''Lost'', [[SanitySlippage this is really starting to damage what's left of her mind...]]]]
166* GangUpOnTheHuman: The AI in the series generally don't put too much effort into combating each other. While Black is the notable exception in that the AI can somewhat often be seen engaging in serious combat with each other, 2012's has the absolute worst of this when playing a standard deathmatch game. The AI will rush the player's position and proceed to simply surround and destroy them while outright ignoring each other.
167* GatlingGood: Many cars use gatling guns as their basic armament, and the Death Warrant vehicle in the [=PS3=] game has your gunner use a man-portable one as a SpecialAttack.
168* GayParee: ''Twisted Metal 2'' stage "Paris: Monumental Disaster". It consists of a small chunk of the Paris city center filled to the brim with historical monuments, boutiques and alleys, and crammed between the Eiffel Tower (which you can destroy by detonating a remote bomb on the upper level) and the Louvre Museum. And it's [[Awesome/VideoGameLevels awesome]]. So awesome, that they remade it in ''Head-On''.
169* GenerationXerox / SpinOffspring: What the cast of ''Small Brawl'' is revealed to be in [[spoiler: Spectre's Ending]].
170* GloriousMotherRussia:
171** ''Twisted Metal 2'' stage, "Moscow: Suicide Slide".
172** The Moscow level in ''Head-On'' is arguably a better example. While the one in ''2'' only contained a small arena with none of the city's landmarks, the one in ''Head-On'' featured Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Kremlin, and a few SCUD missiles that could be used to blow up parts of the scenery.
173* {{Gorn}}: Pedestrians are scattered all over the various suburbs and city areas you battle through in most of the games in the series. Yes, they can be killed. Yes, [[LudicrousGibs they can be blown to bits]]. Yes, '''it is messy'''. Starting with ''Black'' and continuing into the 2012 reboot, you can even kill the opponent drivers once their vehicle is destroyed, as they will run across the arena panicking while on fire.
174** Also, the cutscenes in both ''Black'' and the reboot can be quite on the violent and bloody side.
175* {{Hammerspace}}: Where the weapons are stored after weapon select animations were introduced starting with ''Black''. There is even an animation for the motorbike producing a large oil barrel. In ''Black'', Sweet Tooth's special attack involves it [[TransformingMecha transforming]] into a HumongousMecha, even though there isn't enough room in car mode to store its towering clown robot form.
176* HateSink: The Jones Family in ''Twisted Metal 4''. Even the clown at the ending can't stand them.
177* HoistByHisOwnPetard: At least once someone has been able to successfully make a wish that screws Calypso over. This isn't the only way Calypso is defeated though.
178** Most directly was ''Head-On'', where [[spoiler:Sweet Tooth wishes for he and Calypso to swap bodies. Sweet Tooth immediately orders Calypso's guards to shoot him]]
179* HumongousMecha:
180** Tower Tooth in Head-On, conveniently hiding in the streets of [[{{Animeland}} Tokyo]] as an ice cream shop.
181** Then of course there's the Iron Maiden [[http://thegamingliberty.com/wp-content/uploads/DF2.jpg Dear crap, look at it]]
182----> '''Iron Maiden:''' ''RUN LITTLE MAN! '''RUN!!!'''''
183** Then there's also the Carnival of Carnage, a ''hideously gigantic'' MonsterClown robot built in the image of Needles, by far the largest ''fully functional'' combat vehicle in Twisted Metal history. Its so big that it takes up several levels to fight it (the [[KillItWithFire flamethrowing]] clown head beneath it, the giant pinball table inside it, the trap-laden path towards the actual boss, the actual boss itself).
184* IAmAHumanitarian: Mr. Grimm is revealed to be this in a flashback in ''Black''.
185* IHaveAFamily:
186** This is said by one of Needles Kane's victims in his opening cinematic in ''Black''. Needles Kane's response? "Shut up and bleed, you motherfu-", being [[CurseCutShort interrupted by the sound of lightning]].
187** It's also the last thing [[spoiler:John Doe remembers before Calypso kills him.]]
188* InnocentInnuendo: Meter Maid's ending in ''4''. She gives Sweet Tooth a parking fine worth millions of dollars. She says she'll clear it all up if Sweet Tooth himself does a "few minutes of community service." Sweet Tooth is enticed and takes her up on her offer. We then see Sweet Tooth taking a driver's safety course.
189* ItsGoingDown: The Eiffel Tower in both versions of the Paris stage.
190[[/folder]]
191[[folder:J-O]]
192* JackassGenie: Usually Calypso is a LiteralGenie, but he's still guilty of doing this on a couple of occasions.
193* LandOfDragons: ''Twisted Metal 2'' stage "Hong Kong Crunch".
194* LargeHam: Calypso. At least when he actually talks.
195* LastBreathBullet: [[spoiler:Outlaw]]'s ending in ''Black''. Just after [[spoiler:killing the terrorist the second time,]] he looks over at [[spoiler:the family he was trying to save. We hear over his earpiece "Target is still hot! Repeat, target is ''still hot!''" just before the PinkMist gets splattered everywhere.]]
196* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: ''4'' has quite a few oddities compared to games before and since:
197** For the first and last time in the series, Calypso isn't the host of the titular tournament, Sweet Tooth is, with Calypso being PromotedToPlayable as a result.
198** Outside of Calypso and Mr. Grimm, none of the cast or vehicles from previous games makes a playable return.
199** During gameplay, opponents are referred to by their drivers instead of the name of the vehicles they drive.
200* LegacyCharacter:
201** Many of the cars that appear in multiple games keep their appearance and special attack. Some, however, like Sweet Tooth, don't technically count, since their drivers are actually the same person every time.
202** Spectre in particular has played with this trope especially, even outside of being driven by multiple different people throughout the series. An EasterEgg in ''Small Brawl'' reveals that the kid's father was Ken Masters from ''2'', and the locket that Calypso tosses his way contains the key to the actual car. ''Head-On'' explains that Spectre can by won in a contest to compete in the tournament, justifying its frequent appearances and different drivers.
203* LethalLavaLand: "Amazonia: The Fire Walk" in ''Twisted Metal 2''.
204* LighterAndSofter:
205** ''Small Brawl'': it's still somewhat dark, however. The game itself is bloodless and kid-friendly because you drive radio-controlled cars (not to mention Sweet Tooth here being just a mischievous kid rather than an out-and-out psychopath), but then you get to the endings where Calypso [[spoiler:is eaten by a giant frog, nearly blown up with a large firework rocket, shoots one of the drivers into space or leaves a giant pile of explosives to try and blow up another participant]].
206** ''4'', while not to that degree, is in general much sillier and more colorful than any other game in the series so far.
207** Though it's not much difference, the 2012 Reboot compared to it's predecessor ''Black''. While the reboot has it's dark and scary elements, it does even it out with some truly awesome, action-packed and funny moments as well. ''Black'' on the other hand is from start to finish dark and disturbing.
208* LimitedAnimation: The intro and endings in ''2'' are done in "motion comic" style. There aren't even mouth movements.
209* LiteralGenie: Calypso switches between being this and just [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor misinterpreting wishes in general]]. Some of the best examples of this are Warthog's ending in 2 ([[spoiler:a 100 year old man wishes for the body of a 20 year old, but didn't get the head to match]]) and Twister in ''Head-On'' (CameBackWrong in a nutshell).
210* LittlePeopleAreSurreal: In the 2012 reboot, when Krista goes to a BackAlleyDoctor to fix her face, and [[SdrawkcabName "Dr. Ospylac"]] is a creepy old dwarf who gives her a magic doll mask that will supposedly help her heal. When she calls back, she learns that the mysterious doctor doesn't even exist.
211* LiveActionCutscene:
212** The first game was meant to have these for its cutscenes, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but they were cut in the final product]]. They were showcased as extra content in the [=PS2=] version of ''Twisted Metal Head-On''.
213** The 2012 game, likely harkening back to said first game, uses them in full for its story mode.
214* LouisCypher: Calypso tempts people to do horrifically evil things in exchange for wishes which he screws with as much as possible.
215* LudicrousGibs: In ''Black'', using explosives and other weapons on pedestrians in the area will blow them to bits.
216* {{Mayincatec}}: The "Amazonia" level from the second game features Aztec-style pyramids surrounded by lava emerging from a volcano, [[ArtisticLicenseGeography in Brazil]].
217* MacrossMissileMassacre: Some weapons such as the MIRV, Rain 2, Reticle, Zoomy, Swarmer and the specials of some characters such as Sweet Tooth's and Roadkill's in ''Black''.
218* ManOnFire: The "losers" in ''Black'' and the 2012 Reboot run around screaming and burning for a few seconds before dropping dead. In the Reboot, players can get a "[[MercyKill Mercy Bonus]]" in the form of free Health or Powerups [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential running them over before they finished burning to death]].
219* MascotVillain: Needles Kane skirts close to this. He's definitely a villain, but still a pawn in the game of the series' real BigBad.
220* MasterOfAll: Minion, who has top-tier stats in all areas.
221* MergingTheBranches: While no two characters' endings could technically occur (since, by the nature of the contest, you kill all the other drivers), there are many times when more than one ending in a game is made canon.
222** Several endings from ''Twisted Metal 2'' are treated as happened in ''Head-On'': Axel, Outlaw 2, Twister, Mr. Slamm, and Grasshopper (sorta). Though Axel's story is written in a way that suggests his previous ending happened as a result of having survived rather than because he won, and the others may be {{Hand Wave}}d by the fact there are two years between the games, and the tournament has always been annual. It should be noted that the endings of Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm, and (depending on how you interpret it) Roadkill are ignored. Spectre, Warthog, Hammerhead, Thumper, and maybe Shadow are given new drivers.
223** On the other hand, Outlaw's ending in the first ''Twisted Metal'' is pretty much the ending that happened, as it's the only one brought up ''twice'': it's the focus of Outlaw-2's story in ''Twisted Metal 2'' and is referenced again in ''Head-On''.
224** ''Twisted Metal: Lost'', the mini-game found in the [=PS2=] port of ''Head-On'' which serves as a "sequel" to ''Black'', treats ''EVERY'' ending from Black as having happened, even if they included objects/events impossible to come by any other way.
225** ''Twisted Metal 3'' had the same issue to a lesser extent, what's with Warthog's driver wishing to have the head to match his body, the two Outlaws being reunited, and Axel claiming he separated from the machine (though his hands do seem undamaged).
226* MindScrew:
227** For a VehicularCombat game, Twisted Metal is this trope as a whole! This is mainly due to the games' implicit/explicit nature as being inside the mind of Needles/Marcus Kane, who are separate identities of the same person. ''Black'' does takes place in Needles' mind, but Marcus also made an appearance in that universe (as Minion), and he is always paranoid about Twisted Metal being just a nightmare. He says that he misses the colourful world (the main timeline), but in it he is still as paranoid as ever, forever stating that everything isn't real while Calypso tells him that Twisted Metal is as real as how he wanted it to be. Although this can be explained since Marcus is not happy in the colorful world, it certainly is a lot more pleasant than the horrific CrapsackWorld that is ''Black''. The story bits ever since ''Black'' have suggested that this "colorful world" is the main timeline taking place in Marcus' mind, who since the very beginning has played with the concept that the world he's in is not real. With that said, this means both continuities are merely dreams of a person with two personalities, and thus nothing is real.
228** Another point of contention among fans with Marcus'/Needles' real identity is how it doesn't make sense for Marcus and Needles, who are the same person, to co-exist as separate people and fighting each other in the contest, much less survive after killing the other. In this case, however, this can simply be the case of GameplayAndStorySegregation, as the developers didn't feel necessary to make it so one character never appears when the other is selected (besides the fact that, if all games are set inside the same person's mind, it's not really an issue for two separate entities within it to appear separately).
229* MoodWhiplash: In 2012, the cutscenes are stylised and disturbing, with intense, yet mostly grounded scenes of [[NightmareFuel Sweet Tooth and Dollface committing their various murders.]] Then comes the gameplay, which is full of explosions, giant robots, and ridiculously over the top battle grounds.
230* MonsterClown:
231** Needles Kane. What else do you expect from a serial killer whose head is on fire?
232** [[spoiler:Sophie Kane]] in the reboot is a HotterAndSexier version.
233* MonumentalBattle: The Eiffel Tower, the pyramids of Egypt...
234* MonumentalDamage: The Eiffel Tower, the pyramids, the Art/StatueOfLiberty, the Hollywood sign... and many, many more.
235** Amusingly in ''Twisted Metal 2'', it takes a few tries to destroy Art/LadyLiberty. At first, it just turns her fake torch into a real one, then it [[ClothingDamage strips her down to a hot red bikini]], with another strike inexplicably expanding her body to [[FanDisservice morbidly obese levels]], and finally the last strike destroying the entire thing completely.
236* MultiPlatform: The first two games were also released on PC (though strangely, the PC port of the original was only released in Japan), after which all subsequent installments stayed Playstation-exclusive.
237* NameOfCain: The Kane family: a madman with a MonsterClown split personality and his father, the drunkard insane taxi driver (main continuity)/corpse being remote controlled by his other son (''Black'' continuity). The 2012 game [[spoiler:adds in Marcus/Needles two children, both of whom take up the MonsterClown legacy at the end.]]
238* NotDrawnToScale:
239** Scale problems exist like nuts in this series. Axel, a man on a platform stuck between two wheels, is approximately 20 feet tall, judging by the civilian and house sprites on some levels. Even the motorcycle & dune buggy vehicles are house-sized.
240** This even leaks into gameplay. In ''Twisted Metal 2'', Axel could run over ''and crush'' any other vehicle short of a boss, justified by being bigger than any of them, despite being just a man standing upright between two monster truck wheels. Yes, he can crush Hammerhead, which is an actual monster truck.
241** ''Black'' is actually somewhat realistically scaled: buildings do indeed tower above the vehicles, and although Axel is too big again, even the missiles are generally properly sized as opposed to the giant warheads in every other game.
242* NotTheIntendedUse: ''Twisted Metal 4'' has some of this:
243** It is possible to use well placed Proximity mines to launch your enemies to the pitfalls or out of bounds, which is an instant kill. Its original use, of course, is to deal explosive damage without any need of manual detonator as a keep-away tactic.
244** "Detnoball", one of four available special attacks from custom car, is more or less a modified version of Power missile. However, by firing this weapon along with "turbo-ramming" after freezing the enemy (either by freeze projectile or freeze remote bomb), the player can send their prey flying, which is useful for instant kill in ''The Oil Rig'' stage.
245** Similar to the previous method for ''The Oil Rig'' stage, after freezing the enemy near the edge of pitfall, Orbital can use "Teleorb" so the blue orb would suck them afloat regardless of the car size, and since the frozen car cannot use either ''Shield'' or ''Hyperspace'', they would be in a helpless situation until the orb explode and their pitfall demise awaits.
246* OminousLatinChanting: Used in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53opJu5Qubs Rooftops]] theme in the original, and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqX3sbDsB0U Suburbs]] theme and others in ''Black'', complementing the Gothic CrapsackWorld setting in the latter.
247* OneSteveLimit: Broken with characters having the same names:
248** In the 2012 reboot, Dollface's real name is Krista Sparks. Most would immediately recognize that name as the name of Calypso's estranged 15-year-old daughter in ''2'' who's long dead. Unlike her, this Krista is a grownup supermodel who's AxCrazy and obsessed with being the fairest of them all, with no mention of any connection to Calypso at all.
249** The Agent Stone that's Crimson Fury's driver shares the same name with Outlaw's driver in ''Black'', even though they are completely unrelated.
250** Dave and Mike drive Hammerhead in the first game, and Mike and Stu drive it in the second. It is unsure if it is a case of this trope, if Mike was renamed Stu between games, or if it is the same Mike but with a different co-pilot.
251* OneWomanWail: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpKiB37jEhs&feature=related Freeway]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvZC8SwVVIE Snowy Roads]] music themes in ''Black''.
252* OnlySaneMan:
253** Quite possibly Agent Shepherd (Crimson Fury) in ''Head-On'', who's pretty much the only guy who realized that Calypso is an asshole, doesn't even bother making a wish, and [[ShutUpHannibal arrests him on spot]]. [[JusticeWillPrevail Score one for justice!]]
254** Marcus Kane, who most would pass off as a delusional madman after reading his bios, is usually proven to be this in his endings. [[spoiler:[[MonsterClown His split personality]], however...]]
255** Jebidiah in the reboot is seemingly the only one to see through Calypso's charade, subverted in that others seem to know (or suspect) that Calypso isn't what he's seems, but are derided as being insane conspiracy theorists.
256* OrificeEvacuation: Goggle Eyes' ending in ''4'' has him wishing to contain all the bugs in the world so he can kill them. He immediately chokes to death as every bug in the world bursts from his body.
257* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Mr. Slamm and Grasshopper in ''Head-On'' are piloted by the ghosts of Simon Whittlebone and Krista Sparks respectively. According to Calypso in the former's ending, this is apparently a normal occurrence in this universe.
258-->'''Calypso''': There are a lot of evil spirits floating around that would love to get a free wish.
259[[/folder]]
260[[folder:P-Y]]
261* PauseScumming: The second game implemented the pause feature in an odd way. Your car and the enemy cars would stop dead as expected, but projectiles would continue as normal, the sole exception being the ricochet bomb. With timely use of the pause button you could land every single Roadkill boomerang, every single Sweet Tooth ice cream cone, every single freeze missile, break out of a Mr. Slam infinite freeze missile loop, blow up opponents with their own mines (because the delay before they arm didn't stop when the game was paused, of course) and avoid running into projectiles fired in front of you. The list goes on. Conversely, you could also die during the pause screen.
262* PowerfulButInaccurate:
263** Power Missiles have much less homing ability than Homing or Fire missiles, but are correspondingly more powerful.
264** Mr. Grimm's special attack lacks any homing ability whatsoever, but is one of the most powerful in the game.
265** Warthog's special attack is an interesting variation: a cluster of missiles that increase in power the farther they travel before hitting the enemy, making them PowerfulButInaccurate at long range and the inverse at close range.
266* PrecisionFStrike: First used in ''Black'' by Needles in his intro. It was [[CurseCutShort bleeped out though]]. The reboot was the first time in the series where the F-bomb was used openly. In a nod to ''Black'', the first time the F-bomb ''was'' used, it too was [[CurseCutShort cut short]] by the scream of Marcu's/Needles' wife upon [[spoiler:her getting chopped]]. For the rest of the game, F-bombs were dropped without censors.
267* {{Pun}}: The endings of ''Twisted Metal 3" involve these.
268* PyramidPower: Obviously enough, in the Egypt stages.
269* RecurringCharacter: Calypso, Needles Kane and Mr. Grimm are in all games, though Grimm is a different character in ''Black'' and the [=PS3=] game. Axel, Marcus Kane, Preacher Jebediah, the Roberts siblings, Bruce Cochrane, Minion, Captain Rogers, Krista Sparks and Simon Whittlebone appear in more than one game.
270* RecurringElement: Sweet Tooth, Warthog and Mr. Grimm (renamed Reaper in the reboot) are the only vehicles seen in ''every'' game in the series; Axel and Outlaw are in all games except one; Thumper, Spectre, Hammerhead and Roadkill are in all except two.
271* RecycledSoundtrack: ''Twisted Metal 2'' shares two music tracks from ''Jet Moto'': "Blackwater Falls/Suicide Swamp" and "Snow Blind".
272* RingOfPower: ''Twisted Metal 4'' sets up the premise that Sweet Tooth managed to steal a magical ring from Calypso that gave him all his powers to grant wishes.
273* RoofHopping: A staple stage setting in the series: "Rooftop Battle" in the first, "New York: The Big Leap" in ''2'', "Tokyo" in ''3'', "Skyscrapers" in ''Black'' and "Tokyo Rooftops" in ''Head-On''.
274* SdrawkcabName: The name of the Doctor that gave Dollface/Krista her mask in the 2012 reboot? Dr. Ospylac.
275* SecretCharacter: Minion in every entry in which he's playable, but also Sweet Tooth in ''2'' and ''3''; all the stage bosses in ''4'', Manslaughter, Warthog, Yellowjacket, and Axel in ''Black''; Axel, Darkside, Mime, [=PieceMeal=], and Trapper in ''Small Brawl''; Axel, Mr. Slam, Hammerhead, Crimson Fury, ATV, Cousin Eddy and Dark Tooth in ''Head-On''; Gold Tooth in ''Lost'' and Warthog in the 2012 ''Twisted Metal''.
276* ShipLevel: The "Prison Passage" stage in ''Black''. A big chunk of the Greece stage in ''Head-On'' happens aboard one as well.
277* ShockAndAwe: The Environment (Env) pickup, introduced in ''Twisted Metal 2'', is an special item found on certain stages, which activates a lightning attack in a limited range around whatever its generating it. Certain cars (most commonly Outlaw) have this as their special weapon, too.
278* ShoutOut:
279** [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos's]] blades and a boxart of ''VideoGame/WarOfTheMonsters'' are part of the mementos in Calypso's office in the reboot.
280** In the 2012 Reboot, three cars are modeled after ones from the ''Film/DeathRace'' movie: Death Warrant (Frankenstein's Monster), Kamikaze (14K), and the Juggernaut (Dreadnought). It may have something to do with the {{prequel}} to that movie having a ShoutOut of its own to ''Twisted Metal'', with Lucas' crime boss being named Markus Kane.
281** The Joneses in ''4'' are pretty much a parody of the Griswolds from the ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation'' films, with their vehicle, a green, wood-paneled '70s station wagon loaded with luggage on the roof, heavily resembling the [[http://daddytypes.com/archive/gary_schneider_truckster.jpg Wagon Queen Family Truckster]].
282* SignatureLine: What Calypso says in most endings: "I am Calypso, and I thank you for playing Twisted Metal."
283* SkyFace: Occurs in one character's ending in ''2''. In [[spoiler:Spectre's ending, he wishes for the whole world to see his face. Unfortunately for him, he leaves out the "how", which prompts Calypso to grant his wish by stretching his face across the entire sky.]]
284* SlasherSmile: Needles Kane throughout the series, and Calypso in ''2''
285* SlippySlideyIceWorld: "Antarctica: The Drop Zone" in ''2'', "The North Pole" in ''3'', "Amazonia 3000 BC" in ''4'' and "Snowy Roads" in ''Black''.
286* SpinoffBabies: ''Twisted Metal: Small Brawl'' is a kid-version of the main game, using RC cars instead of real ones and all contestants (several resembling the adults of the main series) being kids.
287* SplitPersonality: Needles Kane, the driver of Sweet Tooth, and Marcus Kane, the driver of Roadkill. Starts out as SplitPersonality, but eventually turns into JekyllAndHyde, and EnemyWithout, then into SplitPersonalityTakeover. Needles could also be considered a SuperPoweredEvilSide.
288* StockScream: The death screams, notably in ''Black''.
289* StrictlyFormula: All of the endings in ''Twisted Metal 3'' follows the same formula: Car drives in, Calypso reiterates the wish of the winner and shoots lightning with his hands, the driver screams for no reason and then suffers the consequences of the wish, Calypso makes a terrible pun and thanks you for playing Twisted Metal.
290* StuffBlowingUp: One of the main features of the series. Not only enemy cars, but several elements of the stages can also be blown up in expectacular fashion if attacked or rammed through.
291* TakeAThirdOption: More of a second option, but in ''Head-On'', the driver of Crimson Fury, Agent Shepard of the FBI, chooses to simply arrest Calypso in his ending rather than trying to collect his prize from the LiteralGenie.
292* ThankingTheViewer: "I am Calypso, and I thank you for playing ''Twisted Metal''." This line closes many of the endings throughout the series.
293* TheKidWithTheRemoteControl: The driver of Yellowjacket in ''Black'' is Charlie Kane, reanimated by his son and literally controlled by a remote control. Also, the vehicles in ''Small Brawl'' are RC cars driven by little kids.
294* TheGrimReaper: Mr. Grimm, in the first three games and ''Head-On'' is the real deal. While the first game kept it a twist for his ending, the follow-ups directly stated it from the get-go.
295* TookALevelInBadass: Hammerhead in the [=PS3=] reboot. It went from sluggish enemy who could fight, though outmatched, to a massive boss battle alongside Slayer (the truck, not the band, though both were based off of heavy metal bands).
296* TransformingMecha: Sweet Tooth's super in ''Black'' sees the vehicle turn into a mechanical clown, although this is only for visual effect as the vehicle proceeds to shoot missiles and then transform back. The version from the 2012 game turns into a full-fledged mecha with proper legs and arms, and the ability to fly.
297* {{Troll}}: Calypso. He makes contestants risk their lives fighting in his freak show contest then screws them over when they make their wish, complete with his own trollface.
298* TroubledFetalPosition: A promotional image for ''Twisted Metal: Black'' shows Dollface sitting in a dark room in this position.
299* TwistedChristmas: The first game takes place on Christmas Eve, [[TwentyMinutesIntotheFuture 2005]].
300* VanityLicensePlate: 1 & 2 have car license plates that reflect the over-the-top personalities of the drivers or just the vehicle itself. Thanks to the hardware limitations of the original Playstation, they don't show up on the cars' in-game models and are [[AllThereInTheManual only detailed in the manual]]. See the character page for the license plate of each individual car.
301* VariableMix: In the first game and ''Black'', most levels have ambient music when no enemies are nearby which changes into more action-packed music when you get into combat, and the latter game also has tracks for when you're down to your last opponent.
302* VehicleBasedCharacterization: Some vehicles have drivers with personalities to match. For example, the [[BadHumorTruck ice cream truck]] is driven by a serial killer MonsterClown, TheGrimReaper rides on [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels a motorcycle]], and the hearse has been driven by morbid individuals such as a mortician and a goth girl.
303* VehicularCombat: The premise of the series; a variety of vehicles fighting in a battle royale with built-in guns, special weapons, or just ramming into each other.
304* WeaponizedCar: Everyone has one of these as their primary combat tool.
305* WeirdnessCensor: There seems to be ''something'' like this going on in the [=PS3=] game. Some of the cutscenes are puncuated by a radio show, where callers will try to talk about the Twisted Metal contest. The host always dismisses them, reasoning if there was one person behind all of the recent destruction, people would be forming lynch mobs. [[spoiler:Given Calypso's [[{{Satan}} true nature]], he probably has something to do with it.]]
306* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Since ''Twisted Metal: Harbor City'' was cancelled, the bios given in the ''Twisted Metal: Lost'' game essentially serves this purpose to the storylines from ''Twisted Metal Black''. More often than not, the already DarkerAndEdgier stories for the characters tended to go FromBadToWorse...
307* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Calypso in ''Twisted Metal: Head-On'' undergoes an AgeLift and has balding white hair, while retaining his BigBad and LiteralGenie personality.
308* AWinnerIsYou:
309** In ''4'', winning the game as a custom character has Melvin ask the player what their wish is, then after a {{beat}}, declare the wish granted (without the wish being known) and the unseen driver kicked out.
310** Being literally an incomplete game, ''Twisted Metal: Lost'' has no endings for its story mode, just a brief blurb that you won.
311** Playing ''Twisted Metal II'' in an easier difficulty has it end after Minion, with a message telling the player to try a harder difficulty to see the rest. Similar case in ''III'' if playing in anything but [[HarderThanHard Pure Lunacy]] difficulty, except the player only misses the driver's ending this way (and given the quality of said endings...)
312* WorldTour: Every game after the first one. The second game makes it into a plot point, explaining that since the first game left New York in complete shambles and unusable, he decides to turn the contest into a world-throtting event.
313* YouDontLookLikeYou: In ''Black'', the character models used in the character select screen are different, older ones than those used in the cutscenes. While with most characters the difference is subtle, this is pretty evident with Agent Stone, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/agent_stone_5.jpg who wears a helmet in the cutscenes]], [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/twistedmetal/images/9/98/OutlawTMB2.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090913211227 but doesn't in the select screen]] (along with a much different-looking face). Bloody Mary was changed to be slightly less creepy-looking and more conventionally attractive from the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/twistedmetal/images/a/a8/Screen_Shot_2021-04-25_at_11.16.01_AM.png/revision/latest?cb=20210425181529 loading screen]] to [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/twistedmetal/images/e/ef/TMBBloodyMary.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110901135150 the cutscenes]].
314* YourSizeMayVary: Blackfield Asylum. Plays into a bit of GameplayAndStorySegregation. The Asylum in cutscenes is a simple 3 to 4 story square building in the middle of a desert. In the level Prison Passage, the Asylum is a wide U-shaped building consisting of several dozen stories, and houses roughly as much free space inside as Minion's Arena. And rather than being in a desert, it's sitting on a port big enough to hold a large cargo ship.
315[[/folder]]
316----
317-->''I am [[JackassGenie Calypso]]. And I thank you for reading the Twisted Metal article.''

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