* GoddamnedBats: The missile-dodging smart bombs in later levels.
* NightmareFuel: The GameOver screen. As [[WebAnimation/ExtraCredits Daniel Floyd]] put it...
-->''"And what happens when you inevitably lose? The game eschews the typical "Game Over" screen found in almost every arcade game of its day for something a lot darker. With '''two symbols''', it reinforces the horror of what's occurred in a way that most modern games fail to do with pages of script. It simply says "'''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt THE END]]'''", across the flash of an incoming explosion."''
** [[http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/8/15/4528228/missile-command-dave-theurer Not to mention, David Theurer, the game's head programmer, actually had nightmares of nuclear war for years after working on the game.]]
-->''"I'd wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare where I'd see these streaks coming in, and I'd be up in the Santa Cruz mountains, and I'd see it hit Sunnyvale and I'd know I had about 45 seconds until the blast reached me. I had those nightmares once a month for a year after I finished Missile Command."''