Line #168 WMG/Ghostbusters


1	!!Entries-specific
2
3	[[index]]
4	* ''WMG/Ghostbusters2016''
5	* ''WMG/GhostbustersAfterlife''
6	* ''WMG/GhostbustersFrozenEmpire''
7	[[/index]]
8
9	!!Franchise-wide
10
11	[[WMG: Ghostbuster tech is MagicPoweredPseudoScience]]
12
13	Even when people disbelieve in the ghosts; it should be easy enough to prove that their equipment does stuff. Each Ghostbuster wears an "unlicensed nuclear accelerator" on their back that can clearly and undoubtedly send out a stream of energy capable of intense physical damage. ....yet nobody else in their world seems capable of, or even interested in duplicating this technology. This is because they ''can't''. It only works because Egon and Ray ''believe'' it works. (Peter and Winston don't care how it works, just that it does, so they don't interfere with the effect.) Any attempts to reproduce this effect would either just fizzle or explode.
14	* FridgeBrilliance: Egon and Ray were the first ones to use the packs. Peter didn't use his until he saw they evidently worked.
15	* This also explains the constant untried prototyping where "one mistake could cause all life to explode at the speed of light" never happens...and when they [[ForbiddenChekhovsGun cross the streams]], it fortunately is always in a situation where something else happens anyways. It also conveniently doesn't hurt ''people'' when it hits them in the game, or heck, when they fire it in their general area without the convenience of a lead radiation shield.
16	** In RealLife, things ''can't'' travel at the speed of light. If you, for example went faster than light then time would essentially be frozen for you, meaning that life has nothing to really worry about as it's likely that the explosion has already happened.
17	* An alternate explanation is that most people simply aren't crazy enough to strap what equates to a mini-nuke to their backs without anything more substantial than the promise that "it '''probably''' won't blow you to New Jersey, we think".
18
19	[[WMG: Ghosts are formed partially by cosmic radiation from outer space]]
20	In GB1 Egon says that the apartment is made with materials used by NASA in telemetry equipment used to detect dead pulsars in outer space. It's also said in the same scene that the apartment was made so that it could suck in and maintain "spiritual turbulence". In addition, ghosts are routinely described and detected using scientific equipment in similar way to detecting radiation. The PKE Meter and Giga Meter behave similarly to a geiger counter. So it's possible outer space radiation is being brought in from outer space and helping ghosts form.
21
22	[[WMG: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Company suffered a hit to its publicity due to its affiliation with an Eldritch Abomination]]
23	* Their new slogan became 'Now with 100% less world-destroying demon!'
24	* They sued the Ghostbusters for it.
25	** Walter Peck slinks into the CEO's office."I understand you and I have an enemy in common."
26	* In alternative, people saw the Stay Puft marshmallow man as a publicity stunt for that product. It worked, people started buying more Stay Puft marshmallow, the company laughed all the way to the bank, and when asked whether that event was a publicity stunt, they replied: SureLetsGoWithThat.
27	* In the first issue of the comic an exec from Stay Puft's parent company is on the phone with somebody about it, talking about the fact that yes, they take a hit to their profits when he appears, but hey, it's basically free advertising.
28
29	[[WMG: Ghosts are required to keep Psychokinetic Energy (PKE) ''down''. Trapping them unbalances the supernatural "ecosystem."]]
30	* The Ghostbusters start capturing a few traditional, not ''too'' dangerous hauntings, and suddenly the PKE meter goes off the scale. This is because regular hauntings use up the PKE in an area. Removing minor ghosts concentrates the PKE and allows for a "cross-dimensional rip" event, such as Gozer or even a super-powered ghost like Vigo to come into being. Fortunately the events required to deal with them knocks PKE down to acceptable levels again and the "[[IncrediblyLamePun ectosystem]]" is again balanced.
31	** Rest assured that whatever city the Rookie gets sent to will have a Cross Dimensional Rip soon after he sets up business.
32	** Here's how the first movie's timeline would go: Gozer was already partly in our world due to the ritual Shandor and his cultists performed. It just took so long for him to show up either because of a time-differential between the worlds or because the building had to accumulate enough energy. Once this happened, Gozer could appear enough to induce the visions in someone. Things Gozer would want to happen. This happens all the time, in fact, it's why Peter didn't find any readings in Dana's apartment when he checked. Had the PKE not accumulated, this is all it would have been; the echoes of a god in another dimension; barely a blip on the radar. Then when the capturing of ghosts in the city started increasing the PKE...
33	** One final streamlining of all the above: New York City has the Grey Lady, Slimer, the Chinatown Ghost, and a bunch of other paranormal denizens floating about. On their own, in their own locations, the PKE is negligible. ''Inside the Containment Unit'', however, the nasties are all in one place. ''That's'' what's concentrating the energy.
34	** As interesting an idea as this is (a bit like police going light on some minor organized crime to prevent an all-out power vacuum), the video game seems to suggest that the increase in PKE is due to Shandor seeding the entire city for Gozer's return back during his cultist days, possibly using the pink slime from the second film. Unless Ivo had some way of ensuring the Ghostbusters would form, bust ghosts, and raise the PKE level, this theory is probably on shaky ground.
35
36
37	[[WMG: Vinz and Zuul are Punch Clock Villains]]
38	Neither seem particularly malicious (at least after they've possessed human hosts), and both seem fairly [[AffablyEvil amicable]] and friendly. Vinz seems more like an excited puppy, intrigued by the human world and gushing excitedly about having destroyed previous inhabitants of earth. Zuul, on the other hand, was willing to sleep with Venkman as soon as he gave a (to us) very obvious lie about being affiliated with the Keymaster. Neither do anything significant or malicious between waiting to find each other (which Zuul takes no steps toward achieving other than waiting in bed for Vinz and blowing up her living room windows). It's possible that both simply [[BlueAndOrangeMorality don't understand]] how humans work, and are just going about their jobs and are excited by the prospect of sleeping with each other.
39
40	[[WMG: Gozer massively depowered itself by taking the form of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.]]
41	Stay-Puft is the same thing in the Ghostbuster world as the Pillsbury Doughboy or WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants is in ours. A world-wide symbol that children send positive emotions to. As the second movie proves, positive energy has a massive effect on ectoplasmic entities. Gozer ''was'' able to counter the massive energy sink and continue operating it as a [[FightingAShadow projected Avatar]]; but it took a metric buttload to do so. Such that it was rather slow for a [[{{Kaiju}} Giant Monster]]; it was beaten by just reversing the gate it came in through; and was outmatched by the villain in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame''.
42	* This explains why it seemed to become more monstrous as the public became aware of how dangerous it was. With less goodwill towards the cute image, Gozer's true nature was able to shine through. Presumably, it'd look a lot worse and be much stronger after wrecking New York.
43	** Stay-Puft did seem to be getting more aggressive and evil as it continued (both as the city's fear increased, and as it drew closer to the portal), culminating in its fiery, outright demonic incarnation once the proton packs ignited it. In that case, Ray's choice might have helped saved the city: by thinking of the most harmless thing he could come up with, he slowed Gozer down enough for them to think of a plan. As Venkman said, "Nice thinking, Ray."
44	** In the Wii version of the Game, Egon's notes in Tobin's Spirit Guide essentially validate Ray's choice. Egon remarks that had any of the Ghostbusters truly thought of nothing, Gozer may have simply moved on to someone else to make its' choice, and that it might have chosen literal "nothingness" as its' final Destructor form.
45
46	[[WMG: Walter Peck is a Gozer worshipper]]
47	Remember he had a high PKE level in the Museum, even ''after'' he was slimed to remove possessors. The reason [[spoiler: Ivo Shandor tied him up was that Ivo challenged Gozer to a fight; and Peck was, surprisingly enough, loyal even after Gozer was skinned and beheaded by Ivo.]]
48	* In alternative, Walter Peck was so dumb he never figured out that [[spoiler: the mayor was possessed]], and his high PKE level was only due to the fact that he was an ass-kisser. [[{{Squick}} Literally]].
49	* Or maybe [[spoiler: the possessed Mayor made sure to imbue a little PKE into Peck without him realizing it, ''just'' to divert Ghostbuster suspicion towards a guy he knew they hated anyway. And it worked! They never scanned the ''Mayor'' with a PKE meter.]]
50
51	[[WMG: Egon's parents were Gozer worshippers]]
52	Ghostbusters 2 indicates that Egon had an unusual upbringing that had a hand in making him the man is today. He mentions to Ray that his parents didn't believe in toys and he's introduced running tests on the effects of negative behavior by causing a man and woman to argue with each other, and by taking a puppy away from a little girl. So perhaps Egon's parents were emotionally distant and/or manipulative because they wanted to groom him to be a Gozer worshipper like they were (and likely their ancestors, since Shandor was alive during [=WW1=])
53	Whether consciously or subconsciously, Egon becoming a Ghostbuster and foiling Shandor's long-term plans was in defiance of his parents' intentions for him.
54
55	[[WMG: Shandor's "unnecessary surgery" resulted in some people having psychic abilities]]
56	In Ghostbusters Egon mentions that Shandor was a doctor who performed a lot of "unnecessary surgeries" and that he was alive during [=WW1=]. Therefore, perhaps, the unnecessary surgeries he (and possibly other Gozer worshipers) performed on people resulted in them and/or or their direct descendants having psychic abilities. This includes the male student from the beginning of the first film (identified as Bob Douglas in the IDW comics), Milton Angland from Ghostbusters 2, Ray, Egon, Venkman and Janine (among many others)
57
58	In addition, Egon attempting to drill a hole in his head (a reference to a practice named "trepanning", which was believed to exorcise evil spirits and increase intelligence) was an attempt to gain greater access to latent psychic ability, as he either recognized or suspected he had this ability.
59
60	[[WMG: Ray, Egon and Venkman were all either abused as children or suffered childhood trauma that shaped their personalities]]
61	Egon was abused or otherwise traumatized in a way that resulted in him being emotionally closed off and caused him to escape into the intellectual fields and sciences. Ray was affected in a way that resulted in him retreating into childlike wonder and optimism as a coping mechanism. Venkman was affected in a way that resulted in him being afraid to be genuine about his feelings and to have an unhealthy fixation on trying to pursue shallow relationships with women.
62
63	[[WMG: The movie version of Venkman had an absentee father.]]
64	In GB2 Venkman takes to Oscar, and when noone else is around, says to him "You know, I should have been your father. I mean, I could have been." While on the surface this seems to indicate that he regrets blowing it with Dana, in perhaps there's even more to that. Perhaps he had an absentee father and as a result has a desire to be a father figure to Oscar in a way his own father wasn't to him.
65
66	[[WMG: Oscar Barrett will have a big part in Ghostbusters 3, if it gets made.]]
67	Let's look at the facts - Mother was possesed by a fairly major demon, and he himself was nearly the vessel of an evil wizardy dude. He must have some sort of PKE madness running in his system. If the timeline of the movie remains constant, Oscar would be in his early twenties, the perfect age to strap on a proton pack.
68	* If Part 3 had ever come to be, it could have been a perfect setup to get Peter and Dana back together again, both of them going through an on-again-off-again relationship throughout the years. And Oscar becoming a new recruit for the Ghostbusters, it would have led to Dana to come back to the HQ and running into Peter once more.
69	* Now that a threequal has been confirmed, this is entirely possible.
70
71
72	[[WMG: Humans are required for Gozarians to use their powers.]]
73	This is more or less stated by Gozer itself when it demands the humans choose its new destructor form at the end of the first movie. The Gozerian pantheon, while powerful, cannot use more than the most basic of their abilities without a human will to shape them. When it first appeared, Gozer made sure to show off to the Ghostbusters without killing them because it wanted their panicked minds to create a powerful form for it. This had some ''[[ItWasHisSled interesting results]]''.
74	* Shandor's cult knew this and used it to make deals with them for power after death. Once elevated, Shandor's ghost, being a sane human remnant, was able to channel his new powers well enough to destroy Gozer after absorbing enough PKE. His line "''I'' have chosen" was him creating his Destructor form on his own and reveling in his superiority over the Gozer.
75	* Gozer has to let the inhabitants of the world it's invading select the form in which it attacks them is some rule the thing lives by, either set by itself out of sportsmanship or love of challenge, or else set by some yet higher being or cosmic law. Perhaps it even has to be the first inhabitant(s) to encounter the thing, hence it demanding from the Ghostbusters alone that they make the selection. Had Ray refused any selection like the others, it may have done something to coerce them, like torture them magically, maybe with that same force lightning-like effect.
76	** Not likely that it ''has'' to be the first natives encountered, as Gozer nearly blasts the guys off the building before it asks the question. Had they fallen and such a rule applied, Gozer would've had nobody left to ask.
77	* Gozer requires humans to choose the Destructor because it wants to pick an especially devious form. Not so much "what are you afraid of?" but "what's the most grotesque thing you can think of?" Maybe it plays a little mix-n-match with different people's thoughts: someone thinks of molluscs and other deep-sea nasties, while someone else thinks of scorpions or something, and the result is some kind of unspeakable...''whatever''. Now, someone's going to ask, "Well, in that case, why did it go with the form of Mr. Stay Puft?" Answer: Gozer looked at "Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man" and went, "Well, ''there's'' something I haven't tried before!"
78	* Gozer anticipated that when it came through the gate it would be greeted by worshippers, so there wouldn't be any hesitation. "I'm here, what do you want me to be?" When Ray tried to order it back to its home dimension instead of falling to the ground and saying, "All hail Gozer the Destructor!" it got pissed off. After all, only a fellow god would dare try to give Gozer orders. But the ritual having been almost completed, it still needed the final part: Choose.
79
80	[[WMG: Film/{{Ghostbusters\|1984}} takes place in the same universe as ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}]]
81	Egon states that Ivo Shandor began plotting to summon Gozer to destroy the world shortly after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Professor Broom states that UsefulNotes/WorldWarII was just the public face of the "Occult Wars" that began shortly after the First World War. During this time, Grigori Rasputin (yes, THAT Rasputin) began plotting to summon the Ogdru Jahad to destroy the world. Both of them failed, but were eventually succeeded in their efforts.
82	Were Shandor & Rasputin working together? Do the Ghostbusters become B.P.R.D. contractors, similar to Blackwater?
83
84	[[WMG: Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} takes place in the same universe as Film/MenInBlack]]
85	After the first movie, the entire city undergoes a mass neuralization and most of the records of the Gozer incident destroyed; while there may be whispers and glimpses of what ''really'' happened, nobody remembers, and so they believe the official explanation (whatever that might be), and continue to think the Ghostbusters are frauds. After the second movie, the MIB realized they'd have to keep doing this over and over if they didn't do something, so they simply allowed the paranormal to become public knowledge while narrowing their purview to merely the extraterrestrial. However, this order came down ''after'' Walter Peck was neuralyzed.
86	** Alternatively, they only erased people's memories of the Gozer incident, as Gozer is not a ghost. Also note that Winston is the only character to reference Gozer in the sequel. (They probably allowed the Ghostbusters to remember some or all of the event, in case their knowledge and abilities are needed once more; Louis remembers possibly because being possessed while being partially conscious burns the experience into your soul or something.) It just so happens that by taking away their biggest and most public event, the majority of people assumed all the little events (which have now dropped dramatically after Gozer's defeat) had a logical explanation. For the game, everyone has been deneuralized of the event.
87	* If someone calls the Ghostbusters mistaking an alien for a ghost, MIB shows up on the scene, neuralizes the Ghostbusters and persons who reported the alien, and everyone is nonethewiser. Also, proton packs = alien science?
88	* Aren't both movie franchises owned by Sony Pictures? Also, who would handle a ghost alien? I would imagine a more benign one would be better suited for the MIB (who are better at negotiations), whereas the opposite would be handled by the Ghostbusters (presumably ghost physics are universal). However, what if a completely corporeal, non-deific entity from another dimension comes to us? It's not a ghost or deity or anything, but does the MIB extend to inter-dimensional relations? This would probably make sense if you consider the original MIB comic in which they also faced supernatural beings.
89
90	[[WMG:The "ghosts" are not actual ghosts.]]
91	The Mood Slime reacts to thoughts and emotions, and shapes itself accordingly. All the ghosts, gods and monsters seen were [[TheHeartless drawn from the minds of those exposed to the ectoplasm]].
92	* The video game establishes that Gozer worshippers supplied the Mood Slime from GB2, and since numerous ghosts throughout the franchise the take the forms of things that are decidedly not human, this is entirely possible.
93	* Taking the whole canon into account it seems to be a mixed bag.
94	** The most common ghosts seem to be echos of people or strong feelings, how close the echo is to the original will vary considerably and produces things like Slimer a being of pure gluttony or the Ghost Jogger who follow a set pattern but lack emotional depth on their own. Additionally many of them become dormant unless theres another major phenomena going on for them to absorb passive PKE out of.
95	** The next most common are construct ghosts, that are manufactured through other means and either aren't based on humans or are based on secondhand information. The Scolari Brothers are construct ghosts manufactured by mood slime and the Judges anger filled memories which is why they're murderous caricatures only retaining their most physically noticeable features such as a prominent chin paired with a sly smile or being overweight.
96	** The rarest are actual people and beings that were never alive in the first place. Usually restricted to people who know what specifically they're doing to provoke the state or who had prior contact with the supernatural. For non-humans that's gods or demi-gods like Gozer and the terror dogs.
97
98	[[WMG: The "Rookie" name tag was just a placeholder until the rookie could get the custom-ordered tag that bore his actual name.]]
99	Presumably, the other Ghostbusters wouldn't have referred to him by name until the custom tag arrived, and the tag didn't arrive until they had defeated Ivo Shandor's EvilPlan.
100	* It could be a new "rite of passage" for newbies to the company, as there may have been many who joined the Ghostbusters between the events of the second film and the video game, only to wash out early because they can't handle the job. So, they reserve the Rookie tag and nickname until they're able to pass their trial period, where they finally get their tag and the others begin to use their name.
101	* Venkman says it himself: "No names Ray. We don't want to get too attached."
102
103	[[WMG: Ghostbusters 3 will end with the Ghostbusters facing off with, and losing to, Heraclitus.]]
104	They won't be able to cross the streams. World ends.
105
106	[[WMG: Gozer was responsible for the Bronze Age Collapse.]]
107	The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age_collapse Bronze Age Collapse]] was a period of about 100 years between 1250 and 1150 BC during which nearly every major civilization of the ancient Near East was destroyed by some unknown cause. Some archaeologists chalk it up to Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Drought, or War. Those are kind of correct. The ancient Hittites summoned Gozer the Destructor and s/he annihilated civilization.
108	* Might that be about the time of the Reconciliation of Meketrex?
109
110	[[WMG:Looking directly into the trap has it steal your "soul".]]
111	[[OurSoulsAreDifferent "Soul" as in emotions]] (or some emotions, based on how long you look at it).
112
113	In the films, the only times Egon really shows any emotions is during a deleted scene when they are getting kicked out of the University (he grabs Venkman), which was prior to the trapping, and when he gets mad at Peck (clearly, his soul or some such was released when all the ghosts escaped, or the sudden surge of psychokinetic energy affected his behaviour).
114
115	Similarly, some experiment (perhaps designing an early trap) prior to the first film did something to Venkman's soul, hence why he can look into the trap and why he never takes anything seriously.
116
117	[[WMG: Guesses on where the next office will be.]]
118	* Philadelphia - An old city with many haunted locations, especially the infamous Eastern State Pentitentiary, whose spirits are already reported as violent.
119	* Gettysburg, PA - Easily one of the most haunted cities in America, which is understandable [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar given what happened there.]]
120	* Washington, D.C. - Since the Busters are recognized by the state of New York, the Federal government could call them to clean up many of their buildings and properties
121	* Chicago - With the Hull House and Ressurection Cemetary, the new office will already have a who's who of supernatural beings.
122	** The comics show that this is where the Rookie chose to set up his franchise after the game.
123	** What would you nickname the 'busters at that station house? "The Ineffables?"
124	* Charleston, SC - As the third oldest surviving city in the US, there are more than enough famous ghosts for the Ghostbusters to deal with, from Anabelle Lee to Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.
125	* Memphis, TN - Depending on the timing, you could have Slimer rock out with the ghosts of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Isaac Hayes.
126	* Boston, MA - Right in the heart of Lovecraft Country.
127	* Bangor, ME - Smack dab in the middle of Stephen King Country
128	* St. Louis, MO - Home of the infamous Lemp Mansion and Brewery, whose history of suicide and corruption has surely boosted the city's psychic turbulence.
129	* UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, WA - At least seven documented ghosts just in the Pike Place Market, clear on the opposite coast (they are lacking in West Coast presence), and attracted an unfortunate amount of infamous serial killers.
130
131	[[WMG: Walter Peck is a Sin-Eater]]
132	This could explain why he had such a high PKE level in the video game after he was no longer possessed. He died in the first movie after being buried under marshmallow and was brought back. The PKE meter was able to detect his Geist even after it had fused with him. Perhaps in the Ghostbusters universe, one of the identifiable characteristics of a Sin-Eater is lack of genitals.
133
134	[[WMG: Willow Rosenberg from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is Egon's niece]]
135
136	They're (maybe) both Jewish, (Egon [[AmbiguouslyJewish Ambiguously]] so, Willow in an [[InformedJudaism Informed]] kind of way) and we can assume BadassBookworm is an inherited trait. In the video game Egon mentions a niece, and he's given a brother in the first movie novelization. Scientists and scholars run in Egon's family. Throw in some continuity from the cartoon, and the Spenglers have a couple of wizards in their family tree as well.
137
138	So Willow is Egon's brother's daughter. Okay, so that leaves her with the wrong last name... but hermom is the type to insist on keeping (and possibly passing down) her own surname name due to ideas on psychology/sociology/patriarchy/proper parenting.
139
140	[[WMG: Oscar is the Destructor.]]
141	The Stay Puft Man was a decoy put on by Gozer to distract the city and confuse the Ghostbusters. The true choosers of the form were Vinz and Zuul, who chose a human form by possessing Louis and Dana then unlocking the gate with the key. Notice how, after the Gozer temple is destroyed, Dana and Louis become perfectly encased in easily-escaped shells that conveniently shielded them from the blast. Gozer did this on purpose.
142
143	Since it involved incubating a powerful cosmic entity, the initial stages of Dana's pregnancy took years instead of weeks. Fortunately, she had a husband to attribute the pregnancy to at the time when it became more apparent. Oscar's presumably strong spiritual presence is what attracted the pink slime in the beginning of ''Film/GhostbustersII'', even before Vigo chose him as his vessel.
144
145	With this in mind, it wasn't the crowd singing that interrupted Vigo's "Now we become one" moment, but Oscar/Gozer rejecting him.
146
147	[[WMG: The chosen Gozer-greeters for the Vuldruni and the Shubs and/or Zuuls chose their own versions of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.]]
148	Gozer appeared as a ''giant'' Slor, and a ''large and moving'' Torg. A slor could be a type of small lizard that were kept as pets in the time of the Meketrex supplicants, and a torg is similar to a [[MythologyGag hibiscus plant]][[note]] I was going to use rhododendron, but recently read that [[ViewersAreGeniuses hibiscus is a type of mallow plant]], [[DontExplaintheJoke and thus related to marsh mallows]][[/note]].
149	** Disproved by the game, but only by a little bit: from the game, we know that a ''juvenile'' giant slor is pretty damn big. It must get even bigger when it matures to adulthood.
150	*** Well, maybe the planet and its inhabitants are even bigger.
151
152	[[[WMG: This isn't the first time Gozer has come to Earth.]]
153	We don't know exactly how old she is, but it's entirely possible she was around during the time of the dinosaurs. She visited then and, like the people in the above theory, the dinosaurs chose the form which was the most harmless: a rock. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt They were wrong]].
154	* The Ghostbusters video game features written recordings claiming that Gozer did appear on Earth in the past.
155
156	[[WMG: The updated logo wasn't the first to be suggested]]
157	Since it's intended as a TakeThat against the authorities who shut them down, Venkman's original suggestion had the ghost [[FlippingTheBird giving the one-digit salute]].
158
159	[[WMG: Vinz Clortho used to be a normal person]]
160	This is why he arguably seems more "human" than Zuul, and also quite possibly more insane. He was actually some other dimension's champion who attempted to fight Gozer, and to give him an eternal punishment Gozer transformed him into one of its heralds. Between being subjected to a glimpse of Gozer's true power and being forced to help destroy world after world, Vinz steadily lost sanity points, until he became the rambling, incoherent thing we see, who even then tries to find what good he can in Gozer's coming. "All prisoners will be released!"
161
162	[[WMG: Vinz Clortho is the demon dog equivalent of a socially awkward nerd]]
163	When Dana gets possessed by Zuul she acts incredibly evil and demonic just as you'd expect, but when Louis gets possessed by Vinz Clortho, he acts twice as goofy and dimwitted. Also notice Vinz's scenes before the possession, how many times has he stumbled into something, or crashed into something or some other sight gag--he has demonic Aspergers.
164
165	[[WMG: Zuul the demon dog that possesses Dana has a SpeciesSurname]]
166	The species that we call demon dogs are called the Zuuls? Proof? "Many shubs and zuuls knew what it was like to be roasted in the belly of a sloar that day"
167	* What if Vinz, having been driven hopelessly insane as suggested above, can only think of the term "women" in the singular example of Zuul, the only (presumably) female he knows. Yes, extradimensional female, but with the whole Gatekeeper thing, I think it holds. When he tries to say "many men and women (or women and children, for that matter) knew what it was like..." it comes out as we might hear a child say "many mommies and daddies."
168	* Two problems with this theory. One: the species is referred to in multiple sources as "terror dog." Two: even in the human world, it's not uncommon to name a person after a different species. Ask anyone named Robin, Bunny, Tiger, ect.
169	** They might be called "terror dogs", because they kinda look like dogs and they are scary. Maybe that's just the English name of a zuul. Kinda like guinea pigs is the English name of what the natives of South America knew by a completely different name (and are not pigs). Or how Hounds of Tindalos in the Cthulhu Mythos are not actual dogs - but the "hound" descriptor is a good way to describe the unknown due to an analogy.
170	* Maybe my memory is faulty but Vinz doesn't say Zuul in quite the same way as he says zuuls, does he? Maybe they're two distinct words with pronunciations so distinct that our human ears can't quite make them out.
171
172
173	[[WMG: The demon dogs take on some traits of the person they possess]]
174	Zuul changes into a sexy dress, while as a dog doesn't normally wear clothes, most probably doesn't understand the principle of sexyness, and doesn't need it in the first place (the Keymaster's coming anyway). Vinz on the other hand possesses a nerd and becomes a nerd himself.
175
176	[[WMG: The pink slime controls Vigo, not the other way around.]]
177	We see the pink slime provoking paranormal activity all over town, but Vigo never states that he's in league with other supernatural forces, and his plan seems to be resuming a human reign over the world once he has Oscar's body, which wouldn't make sense if he had an army of ghostly monsters that could betray and kill him once he was made mortal again. Maybe Vigo is just arrogant and, being in a painting, has no clue what's going on outside the museum. The slime just re-animated the spirit within the painting, like it's been doing across the city.
178	* Interesting...that would also explain why the slime worked on Vigo to defeat him--it was the negatively-charged slime that "awoke" him and gave him his power. Having the slime that had been positively charged by the New Yorkers and the Ghostbusters hit him took away all his power and re-sealed him in the portrait.
179	* The video game seems to imply that the pink slime was created in the laboratory on Shandor Island, and possibly that it's what made New York so susceptible to supernatural activity in the first place.
180
181	[[WMG: Venkman's experiment at the beginning of ''Ghostbusters'' was actually working, and the "mood slime" in ''Film/GhostbustersII'' comes from human waste.]]
182	* Venkman was doing an experiment to test the effects of negative reinforcement on psychic ability. By the end of the experiment, the male subject has enough psychic ability to know that one of the cards has wavy lines on it though not the exact number of lines. This is despite the cards up to this point having geometric shapes rather than abstract "wavy lines". Venkman, preoccupied with sexual conquest, ignores him in favor of the female subject.
183	* In ''Ghostbusters II'', Egon is working on a similar experiment - testing how positive and negative feelings affect the environment. It seems to be succeeding as he is seeing spikes of energy in the atmosphere with both positive and negative feelings produced by his human subjects.
184	* When the Ghostbusters discover a slime that responds to those positive and negative feelings, even going so far as to stir up psychokinetic energy in the courtroom strong enough to attract ghosts, they believe the slime is the cause of psychic disturbances in the city. In the video game, the slime is explained as bile of a Sloar, but what if that's only part of it? The massive amounts of slime and the fact that it's found in the sewers of New York imply that it didn't come from just one source. It could have built up as an element of human excrement over many years. The experiments of Venkman and Egon proved that humans have both psychic ability influenced outside factors as well as the innate ability to turn it into energy. Of course, human excrement would contain some of this energy.
185	** The slime wasn't in the sewers, it was in the long-abandoned pneumatic transit tunnels that run under Broadway. No poop in those.
186	** Side note: the implication I always got from the huge size of the river of slime was that it was a residue that had built up over time from all the crime, nastiness, and negative energy in New York. It may not be an accident that the filmmakers had it flowing through a fictional counterpart to Beach's Transit System which he created to circumvent Boss Tweed's power--the area and the reason for its construction was itself part of a hostile competition, and no one involved (but especially Tweed) was a particularly shining example of humanity at its finest. In any event, this doesn't mean, of course, that the slime still couldn't come from human excrement--just pointing out that the size of the river was likely also due to the saturation in negative psychic energy and disturbances over the years, and surely a commentary upon New York as it is stereotypically viewed. (BrooklynRage was actually stated in-story to be the reason the slime was building up so much power for Vigo, so there's no reason years of it couldn't have created the river in the first place.)
187	* The first part is confirmed in the world of the comics as of IDW's Ghostbusters: Year One issue #2. "Male student" (now identified as Bob Douglas) was interviewed for a book about the Ghostbusters (shortly after the events of the first film) and said he's been having nightmares about a haunted painting and something about a baby, meaning he's got a precognitive vision of the future. He claims this was the result of the electric shocks, no doubt because he had no way of knowing he guessed the symbol on the card correctly. Milton Angland from Ghostbusters 2 also seems to have the gift; he predicts the world will end on New Years Eve of that year, which it almost does due to Vigo.
188
189	[[WMG:Egon, and only Egon, is a Time Lord]]
190	Ever-popular meme done to death, [[PrimeEvil I]] know, but I've put a bit of thought into this. Egon is a Chameleon Arched Time Lord who has lost his fob-watch and will never find it again. This is why we know so little about his background other than "[his] parents didn't believe in toys"--all his memories are facts and figures imposed upon him by the Arch. Ray and Peter simply dismiss his more unusual character aspects to his upbringing.
191	His knowledge, advanced WAY beyond our realm, is the product of all his years at the Academy. As for the Ghostbusters technology, there is a "fork in the road" here: either he had a TARDIS and used it to build the Ecto-Containment Unit and other tech, or his level of knowledge is just that deep. He is especially adept at constructing high-tech equipment from common/household objects, another defining trait of renegade Time Lords. (This is doubly so for the Video Game, where the guys have seemingly anachronistic technology for 1991.)
192	But the clincher is, in a way, Walter Peck. Peck is not an EPA agent, but a Celestial Intervention Agent sent to deal with Egon once the 'Busters really hit the big time (his manner is atypical for EPA agents, as discussed in other [=WMGs=]). After all, that knowledge can be very destructive if applied in just the right way. Unfortunately, Venkman doesn't take him seriously, and neither do the other guys (the trick only works on people who are normally cowed by authority figures). Peck fails and his superiors exile him to Earth, where he becomes an incompetent Inspector Javert figure to the Ghostbusters.
193
194	[[WMG:The ghosts in the containment unit will disintegrate over time]]
195	* This one overlaps with a lot of other ghost stories, including ''Series/KingdomHospital''. In ''Kingdom'', Mary states that Paul, her nemesis, sometimes goes back into the sensory-deprivation tank (presumably where he died) to "recharge". In other words, he must periodically return to the scene of his death to regain PKE. Therefore, the purpose of the Ecto-Containment Unit is to ''prevent'' ghosts from returning to the scene of their death and rebuilding their strength. After a while, they begin to disintegrate...at least in theory. Problem is, the GBs can't put their trophies into separate cells, and there's nothing they can do to stop the ghosts from pooling their ''collective'' energies. This is why the ECU in ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' resembles an alternate dimension: so much ghost energy concentrated in one place.
196
197	[[WMG: Ghostbusters 3 will take place on or be released in 2016]]
198	* Remember the other guest on Venkman's show in 2? The one who said it'd end on Valentine's Day? That's a good guess on when it'll finally come around.
199	** She received that info from an alien...perhaps 2016 will instead see [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor's]] final regeneration?
200	*** That one was Jossed in ''Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor''.
201	** Perhaps...if we're lucky and [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Third Impact]] doesn't happen first...
202	* Jossed that ''Ghostbusters 3'' would be released in 2016. '''Confirmed''' that the guest's prediction that the world would end on February 14, 2016 is correct ... because that's when the first teaser for the ContinuityReboot was released, marking the end of Venkman's continuity and the beginning of a new one.
203	** Annnnnnnnnnd now we have confirmation on an actual Ghostbusters 3 that takes place in Vankman's timeline.
204
205	[[WMG: ''Ghostbusters'' takes place after the events of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''.]]
206	With [[spoiler:{{Magical Girl}}s]] now out the door as a universe energy source, [[spoiler:the Incubators]] turned toward PKE. So one of them telepathically gave that morose architect the blueprints for the Gozer-summoning building, and another projected the image of Vigo into that one painter's mind.
207
208	[[WMG: On another, crueler note, the ghosts seen in Part 1 are actually [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Witches]].]]
209	* Gozer took advantage of the damage done to the spirit/mortal world boundary, with an assist from that building that basically drilled a tunnel into our world.
210	** [[spoiler:[=GB2=] takes place after Madoka ends the MagicalGirl system. The pink slime is solidified curse.]]
211
212	[[WMG: Venkman was actually running some variation of The Milgram Experiment]]
213	[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment The Milgram Experiment]] - When we see Venkman in the first movie "electrocuting" the guy who seems to be getting all the cards correct, that guy is actually an actor he hired to pretend to be shocked to see what the effects of authority and threat of being shocked would have on extra sensory perception. He had planned to run several actors through with the girl hopefully developing actual psychic powers in the long run.
214	* Or, it's a classic Milgram experiment, and he was seeing if the girl would stop the experiment out of concern for her fellow test subject.
215	* Jossed (at least in the world of the comics) as of the IDW comic Ghostbusters: Year One #2 - Bob Douglas was interviewed for a book about the Ghostbusters, complained about the electric shocks, and claimed they were responsible about bad dreams he's been having about a haunted painting and a baby.
216
217	[[WMG: Crossing the streams causes a Vacuum Metastability Event]]
218	[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_vacuum#Vacuum_metastability_event A vacuum metastability event]] is when spacetime quantum tunnels to a lower energy state, essentially collapsing in an outward spreading sphere that destroys everything as it grows. Egon's description of what happens when you cross the streams is a near perfect description of what happens. Also, theoretically, in real life, high energy particle collisions can trigger the event, so presumably in the Ghostbusters universe, when the streams interact, the high-energy particles within them collide violently, thus triggering "all life as you know it stopping instantaneously, and and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light". When they crossed the streams inside the gate to Gozer's dimension, it devastated Gozer's unverse, but the vacuum collapse wave was unable to propagate through the gate, which is why the Ghostbusters' home universe wasn't destroyed.
219
220	[[WMG: Crossing the streams creates antimatter.]]
221	Consider what real-life particle colliders are used for--generating antimatter. Given the proton packs are able to generate massive amounts of positively-charged particles despite their tiny size, you could extrapolate that if you would cross (or "collide") the streams you would generate antimatter at an alarmingly fast rate. Thus the Gozerian temple is obliterated by a titanic antimatter explosion and the cross-stream governer in the video game cuts off when the motherboard detects the presence of antimatter along the stream path. Cutting it off inevitably creates a tiny explosion when the antimatter reacts with local matter, but substantially less so than letting it propagate normally. (Yes, this is taking a few liberties with how antimatter and particle collision works, but...)
222
223	[[WMG: Ray Stantz has Aspergers syndrome]]
224	Dan Aykroyd is said to have mild Aspergers, and he's never made it a secret that Ray was largely based on him. This troper has Aspergers, as do several of my close friends, and Ray's speech patterns, behaviour (Seen as odd even by Egon), and total obsession on one particular topic (The Supernatural) is very very typical of someone with the syndrome, especially in the movies and comics.
225	Ray's parents coddled and spoiled him as a child, but didn't seem to think of him as very capable despite him having a genius level IQ, and his siblings both hate him; the reason his brother hates him is given as him being against the paranormal, but his far more open minded sister is never given a reason for disliking Ray, so perhaps they both resent the special attention their parents gave to him growing up. Ray was born in a time when Aspergers and Autism were both still very misunderstood conditions, and the parents of the sufferers were often accused of causing the child's condition because they didn't love them enough, so Ray's parents responded to this by showing favouritism to Ray to try and "cure" him.
226	** Egon shows some symptoms of Aspergers syndrome, too- social awkwardness and a similar obsession with a single topic (the supernatural). This troper doesn't fall on the autism spectrum, but several of my friends do, and one of them described Egon and Ray as "two halves of one Aspie." Plus, Egon has a collection of "molds, spores and funguses".
227	** The IDW Ghostbusters comic's roll call pages described Egon as "probably on the spectrum", though it also claims Egon doesn't care what other people think of him.
228
229	[[WMG: [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire George R. R. Martin]] is a fan of this series, because...]]
230	Let's take a look at the backstory for the second movie's [[BigBad Big Bad]]: Vicious, unlikable feudal warlord who lives for an absurdly long time(in a world where a life of 50 years is considered "old", none the less), commits unspeakable, unforgivable atrocities, and is savagely executed at the end, with the implication that he has no more allies among the great and powerful after a century-long lifetime of evil and unpleasantness. That's a great description for Vigo....and, except for the execution part, for [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Lord Walder Frey]]. [[spoiler: And if Vigo is something of an inspiration for Walder Frey, then his mortal death may foreshadow Frey's ultimate fate in the series...especially since there is a method in the universe to make the Headscratcher of Vigo's many executions possible...and Frey's worst enemies have it.]]
231	[[WMG: The woman who had the ballroom reserved in the first film was a fellow paranormal enthusiast]]
232	She was miffed the room wasn't ready for whatever event she had planned, but when she found out the Ghostbusters had captured a ghost in the room she was so excited she forgave them and the hotel, thus boosting the Ghostbuster's image with the public.
233	** Alternatively, she was twice as upset when she realized they bagged her guest of honor.
234	[[WMG: Venkman's experiment in the beginning was ''about'' lying to the subjects.]]
235	It was actually going just as planned until one subject walked out.
236	[[WMG: Slimer is the ghost of Bluto.]]
237	Not [[Characters/{{Popeye}} that Bluto.]] [[Film/AnimalHouse This Bluto.]]
238	* Well, in various interviews, Dan Aykroyd admitted that he modeled the character of Slimer (aka Onionhead) after John Belushi as a means of honoring him since he passed away. Originally Aykroyd written the script to be with three Ghostbusters characters and had intended for Belushi to play one of them. However, since Slimer does show some similar actions to Bluto (such as his eating habits and, in once scene, seen chugging down a bottle of Jack Daniels like it was nothing), this WMG may not be far off.
239	* Several sources confirm in various ways that Akroyd considers Slimer to be "the ghost of John Belushi", which, for this troper is as good as confirmed Word of God.
240	[[WMG:Walter Peck has penile agenesis. Or is a trans man with a vagina instead of a penis.]]
241
242	[[WMG: Egon Spengler has a patent on the [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokeball.]] ]]
243
244	[[WMG: [[Film/RosemarysBaby Adrian Marcato]] was part of Shandor's twisted cult]]
245	Sort of explains itself, doesn't it?
246
247	[[WMG: The alien Elaine slept with was a [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Transylvanian]]]]
248	Venkman scoffs at the idea of an alien having a room at the Holiday Inn but there was a [[http://www.rockymusic.org/showdoc/revenge-of-the-old-queen.php draft script]] for an unmade ''Rocky Horror'' sequel that said that Transylvanians have a network of teleporters on Earth disguised as showers. A lot of which were in Holiday Inn bathrooms.
249
250	[[WMG: Elaine was date-raped.]]
251	Elaine claimed she was approached by an alien at a bar in a Holiday Inn, that the alien bought her a drink and somehow "forced her to go with him to his room" which she speculated was caused by a "ray or a mind control device". When Venkman asked about the alien having a room at the Holiday Inn, she speculated that it was a room on the alien's spaceship that looked like a Holiday Inn room. Elaine notably never describes what the alien looks like or how she knew he was an alien. In reality the "alien" slipped something into her drink. Venkman assumed this as well, hence his awkward reaction, and quickly changing the subject to joke about untrustworthy aliens, since he's hosting a tv show and needs to keep it relatively light. Elaine may have been in denial due to PTSD from being raped and concocted the alien/end of the world story as a coping mechanism.
252
253	An early script for Ghostbusters 2 describes her as one of three women on the show who claim to have had sexual relations with an alien, while the IDW comics featured her making a visual cameo at Ray's occult bookstore.
254
255	[[WMG: ''Some'' of the ghosts, specters, poltergeists and phantasms the Ghostbusters encounter in the first film are of deceased denizens of a dimension destroyed by Gozer.]]
256
257	Perhaps they're made to accompany Gozer whenever it travels to the next world which is partly why the targeted dimension experiences supernatural activity with Gozer's arrival. Hell, maybe Zuul and Vinz Clortho were among them being made into subservient demigods in the process.
258
259	[[WMG: Walter Peck is a distant relation of the [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Strickland family of Hill Valley]]]]
260	He's a stickler for Law and Order, to a frankly stupid degree, and despises Venkman on sight because he knows a slacker when he sees one.
261
262	[[WMG: Human ghosts turn into monsters when they're angry and this explains the Scoleri Brothers' appearance.]]
263	Tony and Nunzio Scoleri look like demented Muppets instead of people. However, remember the librarian ghost? She looked ordinary until the Ghostbusters tried to "get her," whereupon she got angry and morphed into a monster. I think the ghosts of humans look like they did in life unless angry, then they transform into hideous caricatures of themselves. And the Scoleri Brothers, executed killers, had plenty to be angry about.
264	* I think the idea was that the Scoleri Brother ghosts were ripped from the angriest person in the rooms head, as a HangingJudge, of course two of the worst killers the judge convicted would be twisted into monsters in his head.
265	* It's possible, as the same thing happened with the library ghost in the first film. She appeared normal and docile when the guys find her. It's only after they annoy her by trying to talk to her and then trying to "get her" did she completely change from a normal human appearance to a full-fledge monstrous form.
266
267	[[WMG: Janine's prediction about Egon from the first movie was a few decades off]]
268	In GB1 Janine claims to be very psychic and claims she senses that something awful is going to happen to Egon and that he is going to die. We're meant to think this is averted by the ending of the first movie, but in fact she predicted what will happen to him between GB2 and GB: Afterlife.
269
270	[[WMG: Gozer's world destroying is part of the Terror Dogs mating cycle.]]
271	Terror Dogs are a native species to Gozer's dimension, every time Gozer is to be summoned, Gozer picks a mated pair of Terror Dogs, to act as their gateway into another dimension, upon being chosen they both go into mystically induced heat, in order to breed, with the side effect of opening dimensional portals, hence why Gozer uses them.
272
273	[[WMG: Oscar grows up to become a Ghostbuster, even after Dana's objections.]]
274
275	[[WMG:Egon [[TheTeetotaler doesn't drink.]]]]
276	Hence why he was drinking Coke instead of beer.
277

Context WMG / Ghostbusters