Since ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' features many, many players, it is natural that the players will include references to their favorite media.

!!Video Games
* The character of Ridley is named after a similar character from VideoGame/{{Metroid}}.
* Shelton is disappointed at the lack of a [[VideoGame/HalfLife crowbar]] in the closet when raiding Raulson's lab.
* The Phase Tank is modeled off the tank from ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Red Alert 2]]''.
* Sharon compares the sublevels to ''Franchise/SilentHill'' and ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' in the first RP.
* Shelton facetiously refers to himself as [[VideoGame/HalfLife Dr. Gordon Freeman]].
* A converted supertanker that is a floating Dragonstorm lab is called ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon Surrounded Sea]]''.
* The champion of a military themed shooting competition is named [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Nicholas Parker]].
* Subject 19's claws are based upon [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} Alex Mercer's]] claws.
** Subject 19 is given the code name Athena. Alex Mercer was given the code name ZEUS by Blackwatch. WordOfGod states that it was supposed to be a joke, using another Greek mythological God as Subject 19's code name.
* Cobalt Leader's real name is revealed to be [[spoiler:Zachary [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Slavik]]]]
* The Human Cobalt Soldier's name is [[spoiler:Sharon [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Redfield]]]]
** The [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Raccoon City incident]] is also mentioned by General Ross as well.
** The mysterious woman moves suspiciously like [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 Albert Wesker]]
* The trigger phrase for Kain's chip is [[VideoGame/BioShock1 Would You Kindly?]]
* Kagetora is based on a minor enemy in VideoGame/NinjaGaiden
* Neku is named for the main protagonist of ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''
* Roux is named for a character in ''ZZ Gundam'' and ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam''

!!Music
* The clearance question to auxiliary control references lyrics to "[=MacArthur=] Park."
* ''American Pie'' by Don [=McLean=] is heard at the beginning of part 2 of Card of Ten.
* Vic says, "[[Music/DavidBowie Ground Control to Major Roy,]]" when testing Roy Hawkeye's radio in Card Of Ten.
* The password to the ADSA HQ is "ShaveAndAHaircut."
* Many, many songs are heard on the radio as James and Co. drive to various places in their cars.
* It is revealed by Hailey that Trinity is a fan of classical music and to the point that Beethoven's 9th Symphony is heard playing with the Trinity Facility as well.

!!Historical Figures
* Darwin, duh.
* Shelton mentions Sacco, Venzetti, and Daniel Ellsberg when Hans asks about his chances at freedom.
* Shelton himself takes his first and middle names from Rudyard Kipling and Oscar Wilde.
* Many of the titles of [=LB&T=]'s works include famous names, like Schrödinger and Nietzsche. Others come from famous quotes, like ''[[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Card of Ten]]'' and ''[[Creator/{{Plato}} Ship of State]]''.
* Not really an historical figure, but Gustave the crocodile is named after the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_%28crocodile%29 real life Gustave]].

!!Science
* The [[CoolGate Einstein-Rosen Bridge]] is named after the hypothetical wormhole proposed by the eponymous names.
* The Double Helix eatery.
* Shelton mentions Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion when describing how Gamas formed.
* James uses the Coriolis Effect to select a corridor in ''Pavlov's Checkmate''.
* Shelton also mentions having an [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=4340&view=findpost&p=9069835 Erdos number of 7]] in the first RP. Which is actually a rather pathetic Erdos number.
* The Cobalt Squad in the first RP had a tendency to use famous scientists' names as derogatory terms directed toward the scientist characters, Examples of names used as such include Newton, [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=4340&view=findpost&p=9032401 Hawking]], and [[Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy Bill Nye]].
* Kerzach is mentioned as having [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=4340&view=findpost&p=9037701 worked]] on a Small Hadron Collider, which later plays a role in ''Schrodinger's Prisoners''.
** Also, Shelton justifies his knowledge of VideoGame/HalfLife by explaining that "one of my fellow scientists at the Large Hadron Collider [[http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/09/terrible-news-gordon-freeman-spotted-near-large-hadron-collider/ looked like Gordon Freeman]]."
* Rara Terra Smelting from ''Fool's Gold'' by Serris is established as lanthanide refinery.
** [[spoiler: Rara Terra means "Rare Earth" in Latin. Rare earth is an old name for lanthanides]].
* Shelton says the Dragonstorm "thought network" was a branch-off of the [[http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/06/53302 phone tooth]] invented in 2002.
* A scientist named Dr. Dyson Holmes is the subject of a really long and convoluted shout out. [[DontExplainTheJoke Spoilered]] below:
** [[spoiler:"Dy" and "Ho" - the letters for Dysprosium and Holmium.]]
** [[spoiler:The lab report he worked on is titled "Toxicity of Lanthanide Containing Alloys In Pediatric Psions" - Dysprosium and Holmium are lanthanides.]]
** [[spoiler:There is also a reference to Dr. Holmes being "hard to find". Dysprosium is named after the Greek word "dysprositos (δυσπρόσιτος)", meaning "hard to get".]]
*** [=LB&T=]'s answer works too. He thought "Dyson Holmes" was a reference to Literature/SherlockHolmes and the DysonSphere, since both are "hard to find" (Holmes because he's a detective, good at remaining unseen, and Dyson Sphere because 1] they don't exist and 2] a Dyson shell would block the rays of the encompassed sun making it hard to see from an astronomical viewpoint.)
* Krebs-Calvin Pharmaceuticals is mentioned in the second RP.
* James's favorite expression is allegedly "I'll trust you when there are two electrons with the same spin occupy the same atomic orbital". [[DontExplainTheJoke Spoilered]] below:
** [[spoiler:Electrons cannot occupy the same atomic orbital unless their spin quantum numbers are different.]]
* A tiny mining town in Texas is named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenopus Platanna]] Town.
** It is home to an arena called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenopus Xenopus]] Arena. An electronic band playing there is named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix-turn-helix Helix-Turn-Helix]].

!!Literature
* Main character [[Literature/EndersGame Ender]] [=McThair=] from the Furtopia RP.
* A sadistic canine guard is nicknamed [[Creator/StephenKing Miss. Cujo]].
* The complete works of Shakespeare play an important role in Card of Ten.
* Lab 101 was named after Room 101 in George Orwell's ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''.
** Shelton also says, "[[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=4340&view=findpost&p=9035957 Big Brother's back in the saddle]]!" when they get the cameras working again in the first RP.
* The code used by the Dragonstorm scientists in the first RP consists of multiple references to Homer and the Aeneid.
* Dragonstorm [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=7319&st=2500&#entry9195867 passed out]] copies of ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' to everyone in the organization.
* The Anaconda who saves Dr. Kerzach's life by killing [[spoiler:Jake Sachs]] and teams up with him in the story ''Fools Gold'' is named [[Literature/DirkPittAdventures Paul Gamay]]
*
* The head of security on the Dragonstorm supertanker/lab is named [[Literature/TheOutsiders John Cade]].
* In a Gaman library, Dr. Joe finds a book called ''[[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=4851&view=findpost&p=9128726 The Gamas Delusion]]'', referencing Richard Dawkin's book ''The God Delusion''.
* Shelton [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=7319&view=findpost&p=9228902 mistakes]] ROSS' name as "Rossum", a name from ''Theatre/{{RUR}} - Rossum's Universal Robots'', the play that coined the term 'robot'.
* In the third roleplay, right when Calchas is about to finish what he needed to [[RapeAsDrama interrogate]] Shakila...
--->'''Assistant''': Mr. Babcock!
--->'''Calchas''': [[Theatre/SweeneyTodd Out I say, out!]]

!!Film/Live Action TV
* Shelton says he feels like Series/{{MacGyver|1985}} when he gets himself out of a locked room.
* PFC Reynolds, a minor recurring ally, is named after the character from ''{{Series/Firefly}}''.
* Several background characters are named after [[RedShirt redshirts]] from other franchises, such as [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Compton, Carstairs]], and [[Film/JurassicParkIII Udesky]].
** Eddie [=McKay=] was named after guest star Rodney [=McKay=] on Series/StargateSG1, before [=LB&T=] learned that he became a main character on Series/StargateAtlantis.
* Branston mentioned that during a heist at the Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, Camilla [[Franchise/JurassicPark knocked over a soup ladle]] [[EpicFail while trying to be sneaky]].
* In the second RP,
-->'''Branston''': Dr. Zenarchis has the other trigger.
-->'''Shelton''': [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=5381&view=findpost&p=9141534 Doctor Who]]? He's dead!
*** [[WordOfGod The author has stated that this was intentional.]]
* ''Film/DieHard'' is mentioned in the first RP, and DieHardOnAnX is [[DiscussedTrope discussed]].
* When Neku activates his lightsaber, Shelton warns him that it's not nearly as strong as the ones on ''Franchise/StarWars''.
* [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Weyland-Yutani]] is mentioned in the 3rd RP as being "one of the foremost manufacturers of prosthetic limbs and other cybernetics"
* Shelton pocket-texts [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=7319&view=findpost&p=9180550 Dr. Kelton]]. Kelton was a patrolman in ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''.
* The third RP reveals that a big budget movie is being made about the first terrorist attack. Name-dropped actors include Creator/RobertDowneyJr, Thomas Kretschmann, and Creator/NeilPatrickHarris. We also get this exchange:
--> '''Shelton''': "''You could be looking at the next [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey Dave Bowman]].''"
--> '''Cobalt Leader''': "''Hm, the way I remember [[MissionControl your role]] in the whole situation, you'd probably be closer to the Chevron Guy on Stargate''."
* A shooting range in the 3rd RP is called [[Franchise/StarWars Czerka]] Tactical Arena.
* Shakila has revealed her last name to be [[spoiler:[[Series/{{Bones}} Brennan]]]]
* Zachary facetiously refers to a Dragonstorm experiment that attacked them as the Franchise/{{Terminator}}.
* A Texas based juvenile detention facility/Dragonstorm lab is located on 623 {{Series/Deadwood}} Drive. And the warden is named Francis Wolcott
* A certain Captain [[Franchise/StarTrek Kirk]] Lutra is the head of the Dragonstorm floating lab ''Surrounded Sea''.
* [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=7319&view=findpost&p=9222016 "I'm sorry Soundwave.]] [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey I'm afraid I can't do that."]]
* [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Shakila punches Calchas in the face, but injures her hand doing so]]
* Shelton's goatee and ponytail disguise was inspired by Timothy Omundson's guest character on ''Series/SeaQuestDSV''.

!!Other
* Shout-outs to weaponry all over the freaking place.
** One of the soldiers used a Patton tribute pistol in the first RP. It was never explained exactly why he had one of those.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger is referenced when James blasts through the floor with a gun in Card of Ten.
* Shelton's [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=4340&view=findpost&p=9047698 password]] to the computer system is ''killapp123'', both a reference to killer apps and Lotus-1-2-3, a spreadsheet program and early killer app.
* The reference to Ender [=McThair=] in ''Card of Ten'' established the anti-matter universe the characters were stuck in as synonymous with the Furtopia universe.
* In ''Pavlov's Checkmate'', James uses "Nigel Munroe" as an alias, which happens to be the protagonist's name of a failed attempt to start a Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers RP in the Bulbagarden forums.
* Not really science, but James finds a CD encrypted in BASIC.
** It's actually binary, Shelton misspoke.
* A woman named [[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} Selina Kyle]] is mentioned.
* Shelton mentions being in [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=4340&view=findpost&p=9035950 Mensa]] in the first RP.
* The Dragonstorm experiment who first attacks the group is named ComicBook/{{Magneto}}.
* A single shot doctor in the 3rd RP is named Dr. [[ComicBook/XMen McCoy]].
** I was positive that was a reference to ''Series/{{Star Trek|The OriginalSeries}}'''s Dr. [=McCoy=], especially since the doctor who discovered the body said, "[[HesDeadJim He's dead]]!"
** That works but [[WordOfGod canonically]] his first name is Henry but everyone calls him "Hank".
* Alfred's response to Zachary when he is asked if he can tip a 3 ton truck over.
--> '''Alfred''': I exceed the strength of the strongest Human by quite a bit but I am not [[ComicBook/XMen Colossus]]!
* Shelton makes an offhand comment about Website/TvTropes.
* Dr. Zanasiu sarcastically calls Dr. Shelton [[ComicBook/XMen Professor X]] through the thought network.
* The fictional actor Stephen Di Georgi is named after two people that Serris knows in real life.
* Marcus uses the name [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Logan]] on his name tag.
* Stern's two assigned allies in the [[http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=7319&view=findpost&p=9184008 Schutzhund]] are competitors [[Film/THX1138 1138]] and [[LeetLingo 1337]].
* After taking out Project Zeta, Shakila says this:
--> '''Shakila''': Franchise/{{Batman}} eat your heart out.
* It is mentioned that Dr. Creator/StanLee first discovered the mechanism by which psychic powers work in 1963.
* The first psi-experiment created is named [[ComicBook/JeanGrey Jean Gray]] and in a ShoutOut to ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' she is eventually put down by the scientists after her telekinetic powers went out of control and killed several scientists.
** Do note however, that the "telekinetic meltdown" manifested in the form of people getting violently thrown around, not in the form of people and objects getting disintegrated.
* A Sgt. [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]] is seen as a member of the United States Army
* A Chimera-based Dragonstorm experiment attacks Kiara and Hailey in the 3rd RP
* A certain [[EvilOldFolks elderly]] Dragonstorm researcher in the [[ExpandedUniverse spin-off story]] ''New Divide'' goes by the codename of [[MotherGoose Old Mother Hubbard]] and she has a canine assistant.
* Drake has the inventory number of [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch Experiment 626]]
* The town of Cornova is named after the author of Fanfic/PokeWars.
* Shakila gives off the fake name of [[Franchise/TheIncredibles Violet Parr]] and the fake number of [[Creator/{{Pixar}} A113]] as her experiment number.
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