WMG / Pulp Fiction

As a WMG subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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The briefcase contains...

Goldmember's...well...member

The Golden Fleece is in the briefcase.

See The Spirit. Or The Spirit.

A collection of Oscar statues is in the briefcase.

They're from an alternate universe where Pulp Fiction swept the Oscars.

A miniature universe...

...which is exactly the same as the Pulp Fiction universe. When they look in it, they see smaller versions of themselves looking into the briefcase. And in that briefcase, there's another, really tiny version of them looking into the briefcase.

Marsellus Wallace's soul is in the briefcase.

Classic theory. The briefcase contains the soul of Marsellus Wallace. The devil tore it out of the back of his head (hence the Band-Aid). Note the password on the briefcase is 6-6-6. It glows brightly and is beautiful enough to utterly disarm nearly anyone who looks into it.

• Something to point out that when Jules and Vincent kill Brett, the same color of the glow from the briefcase flashes across the screen. Soul leaving the body?
• Marsellus Wallace sold his soul for the power to run his criminal empire. But then he meets and married Mia... and the only way he can be truly fulfilled is to have his soul back, which he will pay any price to do - hiring the Wolf can't be cheap. Funny thing about souls, they are what lets people truly feel. Marsellus Wallace is a hard, ruthless man, having sold his soul, but part of the price of regaining it is to feel all the emotions that were numbed by its loss. Marsellus, the hard, ruthless criminal kingpin, must have caused immense anguish and suffering which would be reflected in his soul, if he had one. Then he regains his soul, and the suffering begins. (At the same time he's having his soul reseated, Mia Wallace overdoses on heroin and dies - whoever Marsellus sold his soul to wants it back, and takes Mia's soul in exchange.) A soul sold to the devil is cursed by God, and brings ill fortune to whoever possesses it. Only Jules Winnfield walks away whole, a man freshly set on a path of righteousness - judged, and declared worthy of redemption.
• As interesting and creative at this theory is, it just doesn't work. When Pumpkin looks inside the briefcase, he recognizes the contents, and believes them to be monetarily very valuable. Pumpkin is not likely to recognize Marcellus Wallace's soul, and if for some reason he did he probably wouldn't be awed by it's value (which probably is worth nothing to anyone other than Marcellus himself). Whatever is in the briefcase, it's likely to be something quite famous. That goes for all the other theories here, too.
  • IIRC, he didn't say it had monetary value. He just said "Is that what I think it is?" and "It's beautiful". Maybe souls are just instantly recognizable, because magic.
• On that note, it could be a Horcrux, with Marsellus Wallace being a wizard in disguise.

The jewels from Reservoir Dogs are in the briefcase, and Mr. Pink is the waiter at Jack Rabbit Slims.

He survives the shootout at the end and has apparently escaped custody and is, now incognito, trying to get the jewels back.

• Also, Pink's real name is Carl Showalter.
• If the jewels are in there, why does it glow?
• Special light for a special case. It could have been lined with gold foil and a light bulb that turns on when opened along with the diamonds.
• But the events of Reservoir Dogs and the first day of Pulp Fiction take place on the same day...
  • That's a popular fan theory, but it's never been confirmed. The idea that the diamonds from the Reservoir Dogs heist were in the breifcase was actually the original intention of the film as seen in early drafts of the script, making it impossible for the two films to take place on the same day. However, as the script was changed and the contents of the breifcase have been left unrevealed, either theory is possible, but they are mutually exclusive.

Mr. Pink and Mr. Orange are both alive and in this movie. And the briefcase contains the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs.

Mr. Orange survived being shot. After all he survived that long already and we never see where he's been shot. Plus people have survived shots like that. Mr. Pink co-operates with the police, tells the location of the diamonds and gets parole. After all we never see him kill anyone and he's the only one without a back-story. For all we know he could be scot free other than the robbery. So then Mr. Orange gets a new identity, that of a small time crook to retrieve the diamonds and hooks up with Amanda Plummer. He gives back the case at the end because he knows Jules and Vincent both work for Marsellus.

• You think Orange survived being shot in the head?
• Mr Pink killed a few policemen at the start of the film, so I doubt he would be let out so easily.
  • In all the chaos, maybe they didn't realize which one of the crooks did the shooting. And the whole "Mr. Pink is actually on his first heist" thing actually is a popular theory for him (see Alternative Character Interpretation).
• Some theories, due to ambiguity since the last bits of Reservoir Dogs only show Mr. White thinking about shooting Orange, say that White was killed before he could plug Orange. Therefore, it could be plausible that Orange survived. Not to mention The Bride survived a freaking gunshot wound to the head.
• Not if the events of both movies take place on the same day, as Tarintino has implied.
• Why would Orange affect a British accent?

The briefcase contains the cocaine Clarence stole in True Romance

Not all of it, naturally — alot of it was destroyed during the shootout at the end of that movie.

The briefcase contains the Holy Grail

There is a Cracked video that shows Pulp Fiction is a take on Arthurian Legend so this is possible.

The briefcase holds the same top secret mystery as the trunk of the car in Repo Man.

Both give off a golden glow, etc.

• Impossible. The glowing thing in the Trunk in Repo Man kills who ever looks at it.
  • The people who do look inside it all die. If I'm not incorrect that is.
    • You are incorrect. The guy in the diner looks into it and survives.
    • For now.

The briefcase contains the remains of the Ark of the Covenant, or holds the contents of the Ark, and is itself a form of the Ark, as described in "Raiders".

The Ark makes any army marching with it invulnerable, which explains why Jules and Vince are able to have weapons fire at them at point blank range with no injury (while holding the briefcase). Also, the briefcase shines with an interior light, like a weaker/smaller/more aged version of the opened Ark in "Raiders."

• Vince survived looking into the briefcase. This might mean the briefcase is the Ark from the Xenaverse. While the Indiana Jones Ark kills whoever looks at it, the Xena Ark kills whoever looks away from it.
  • But Vince did die by the end of the movie. The Ark may have "cursed" him to be shot by Butch rather than melting his face off.

The briefcase contains a lightbulb.

Oh come on! Can we please keep it somewhat plausible??

• Seconded! The glow might be just a light built into the suitcase, like the ones that you see in glove compartments sometimes. When you accept this theory, the possibilities of what people are really reacting to in the case open up quite a bit.
• Maybe it's the Most Valuable Lightbulb EVER MADE?
  • Self illuminating light bulb, therefore it would be a self-powered one which would be a stone's throw away from perpetual energy/free eternal lasting energy. Which leads me to believe Marsellus Wallace and his gang work for Greenpeace.
• Word of God: It's a lightbulb. A supernatural one. At least, it is if you accept that Watson's first and middle names were Arthur Conan.
  • No, Word of God said that in real life they used a yellow-orange light bulb as the prop. However, there has never been any Word of God explanation for what is in there in-universe and presumably there never will be. See the entry on The Walrus Was Paul.
    • That's only half the story. Word of God is it's diamonds. Tarantino just felt it to be kind of cheap using the same plot for two movies.

The briefcase contains a gigantic onion.

It gives off a golden glow, brings tears to some characters' eyes...

Let's be realistic here: the briefcase contains gold bars.

What else would mean something to a mobster, would be carried in a discreet briefcase, and glows golden when the briefcase is opened? Characters getting emotional about its content is simply their greed overcoming them.

• Gold Bars are heavy; it's difficult for even one to be carried, let alone a couple in a suitcase. The object(s) in the suitcase must be lighter than Gold Bars, yet similarly or even more valuable.
  • Or, they could be gold leaves.

The briefcase contains Batman.

Glowing Batman, who is about to give them all the beating of their lives; seeing him in there just fills everyone with awe. But he's only two inches tall, and it's the middle of the day so he's not so scary, and so they can just close it up again. Tiny little glowing awe-inspiring Batman!

• Tiny little glowing awe-inspiring Batman? You, sir, win.

The briefcase contains a small, active nuclear bomb

Yes, it will kill those who look upon it - but it'll take a while...

• Already been done.
• But of course. Where do you think Quentin got the idea in the first place?

The briefcase contains more than a film canister's worth of marijuana.

That '70s Show tells us that a film canister full of marijuana glows bright green. A suitcase full probably fills the mana gauge completely and starts glowing gold.

• Alternatively, it is a Gold Herb from the Resident Evil series and the marijuana in That '70s Show was just a lesser Green Herb. Although, that suggests the herbs in Resident Evil are marijuana, which would explain a lot...

The briefcase contains something with only sentimental value, and is an exercise in "trust" and the nature of human perception.

This might seem a little odd, but the briefcase contains something rather mundane that belongs to Marsellus - perhaps some cheap jewellery, or some kind of souvenir. Vincent and Jules become transfixed upon looking at it, not because it's something particularly special in itself, but because they're trying to work out why Marsellus finds it important: they reason that Marsellus is an important and dangerous man, who must therefore want this object only if it is important or dangerous. Similarly, "Pumpkin" observing "It's beautiful" might simply be trying not to offend the guy pointing a gun at him.

• The Gold Watch sequence gives credence to this idea.
• But Pumpkin calls it beautiful before he knows Jules has a gun on him.
  • Not the OP, but if we accept this theory, Pumpkin could simply be a man who has a genuine appreciation for the smaller things in life. He's clearly a man with at least a few hidden layers beyond what we see; for one, he's an Englishman in America, so for all that he's an impulsive criminal now he probably had some motivation beyond small-scale robberies for moving out there, which hints at possible backstories and ambitions. Furthermore, despite his criminal tendencies it's clear he deeply and genuinely loves Honey-Bunny. Like Marsellus, who finds something of value in this seemingly small object that the ruthless, cynical criminals he hires can't see, Pumpkin is also capable of seeing something of value and beauty in it. By this logic and reasoning, it adds to a note of hope and redemption to Pumpkin and Honey-Bunny's story, that like Jules they have the possibility of walking away from their grungy and seedy criminal lives and rising above it to make a more meaningful life for themselves.

The briefcase contains Butch's gold watch.

Marsellus became aware of Butch's attachment to his father's watch, and so he hired someone to steal it. The guys whom Jules and Vincent were hired to kill tried to pull a fast one on Marsellus and grabbed as much stuff of his as they could find - including the case, which Jules and Vincent later returned. Marsellus expected that Butch would eventually mention to him that the watch was missing; he would then promise to find it and shortly thereafter produce the watch. Marsellus presumed that Butch would feel indebted to him and less likely to screw him over. Apparently, his plan failed.

• If Butch's gold watch was stolen, then why was it right where he left it in the apartment?
  • Also, while gold watches are valuable, it would not inspire the awe and wonder it did in Vincent and Pumpkin.

The necklace from Titanic is in the briefcase.

Impossible. In the music video for "Oops, I Did It Again", Britney Spears as the queen of Mars clearly collected the necklace so she could give it to her astronaut boyfriend.

• To be fair, the movie is set in the mid-eighties to early nineties, before Britney Spears was more than just a wee Mouseketeer and before Mars landers were pretty common. It's possible that the necklace eventually made it's way to Spears by this time, after getting tossed around in a massive mafia war that killed or incapacitated Marsellus and got into the hands of a music exec who wanted to reward the new pretty to the first pop mogul to set up a fanbase in space: an alternate universe Britney Spears, who instead of going mad and having a massive meltdown in 2007, decided to go into astronaut training.

Samuel L. Jackson's wallet is in the briefcase.

The one that says Bad Motherfucker.

• So where did the wallet in the bag come from?
  • He has two wallets. He's that Bad Motherfucker.

The briefcase contains another briefcase.

It's just briefcases all the way down.

• "What's in the smallest briefcase?" "Porn."
  • Is one of them a Clash of the Titans lunchbox?

The briefcase contains The One Ring.

Everybody wants it, and it transfixes those of weaker wills. Some people are willing to kill to have it. Jules is made of stronger Motherfuckin' stuff, and so has no desire for it and will give it to his boss willingly. Oh, and the Ring isn't likely to let its new bearers be killed by something so mundane as a fellow with a BFG.

• This, of course, means Jules is really Tom Bombadil.
  • Ah, that would explain a lot. Oh, no, wait, that just raises further questions.
  • Okay, Tom Bombadil being played by Samuel L. Jackson is now officially the most awesome thing ever.
    • "Ring-a-dong-a-dillo, mother fucker!" *gunshot*

The briefcase contains a permanent, object-bound Hypnotic Pattern spell.

Its only value is that it glows and looks hypnotically beautiful to anyone who sees it. The briefcase reduces the effect it has on the holder, so that it can be aimed and used by a non-spellcaster, or simply looked at and enjoyed without becoming unable to ever close the suitcase.

The briefcase contains whatever Fry and Bender always wanted

Tangled up Christmas lights, and wide-mouth booze.

The briefcase contains the G.E.C.K

The film takes place in the Fallout universe - or maybe Fallout takes place in Pulp Fiction universe, especially since both pay homages to popculture. That's why you don't see computers (because they would be too huge and limited to bases and factories) and everything has that old-style feeling. It takes place shortly before 2077. Butch ran away from Marsellus to find a suitable vault. The game also provides a Shout-Out to it by having a boxing ring in the second game. Marsellus needed the G.E.C.K to create New Reno when he left the vault. And the motive for Bishop's revenge on Vault City was because Lynette stole Marsellus' G.E.C.K to create the city and left him with only fundaments. Also, look at Angela Bishop's sprite - black hair, addiction to Jet, is related to a mob boss... she's an Expy of Mia Wallace! Jules after the incident with the "miracle" realized that he isn't doing a plain ol' job. He now knows that what he protects is for ensuring a better future.

• Lynette is younger than Vault City. Of course, it might be an inherited feud, with the Bishops keeping a grudge against Vault City and its leadership.

The briefcase contains the Eye of Harmony, which Marsellus Wallace stole from the Time Lords.

That golden glow looks suspiciously similar to the one witnessed by Rose Tyler in "The Parting of the Ways". Just saying...

• Or, to expand this theory in light of new information: the briefcase contains the moment, the weapon that the Doctor almost used to destroy Gallifrey. It's golden hue is merely due to the fact that they've opened it and are seeing its heart which is not too dissimilar from the insides of a Tardis. Why does Pumpkin call it beautiful then? Because it's already started sendding hallucinations into his mind - in this case the avatar of the Moment takes the form of Yolanda/Honey Bunny.

• Or the briefcase is a TARDIS itself. Not The Doctor's TARDIS but a different one with a working chameleon circuit that disused itself as a common briefcase. The glow comes from the interior lighting. Pumpkin is in awe when he sees it opened because he's amazed the case is Bigger on the Inside containing a large control room. Whoever is the Time Lord that owns the ship is anyone's guess... maybe Marcellus Wallace.

The briefcase shows each person his own destiny.

Everybody who looks into it is transfixed, but has a different reaction. Vincent looks confused and almost scared because it shows how he dies. Honeybunny and Pumpkin see that they give up their lives of crime and live peacefully thanks to Jules, hence "It's beautiful." Jules never actually sees what's inside, so he's able to become a free man with no knowledge of his future.

The briefcase contains Gold Kryptonite

Which is why it's so highly vauled in the criminal community.

The briefcase contains a Piece of Eden

And Jules and Vince are Templar agents attempting to get the Briefcase from Marsellus to deliver to Abstergo Industries.

• And after repenting, Jules joins the Assassins. Thus, we have Assassin Samuel L. Jackson.
  • Can we factor in the possibility that Butch's dream sequence before the fight in The Gold Watch is actually a memory he's viewing via an Animus?

The briefcase contains a lot of drugs. The glowing is a metaphor.

Really now, we're talking about a crime lord and his hitmen, some punks with the guts to steal from a crime lord with hitmen, and some small-time muggers. A suitcase full enough with drugs is definitely enough to hold any of their attentions.

The briefcase contains Wallace's dirty laundry.

Jules wasn't lying!

• Specifically, that shiny, really high-quality commissioned over-the-shoulder thing he was going to wear at the end of the week while out with Mia Wallace. Jules wasn't being facetious, he was asking if Wallace was in drag when the guy saw him or not (apparently not, from the confusion).

The briefcase contains Wallace's dirty laundry... metaphorically.

It's incriminating evidence that needs to be taken to an associate without falling into the wrong hands, but is useless to anyone who isn't the cops (since they'd be killed if they tried to tell the police, and would probably not be believed anyway). The people who understand it are amazed at the information, the people who don't are puzzled, and Pumpkin thought that the embossed gold-leaf seal was beautiful. The glow is the lightbulb in the case reflecting off of the contents, including the aforementioned golden seal.

The briefcase contained the Source, the Eden device from series 4/30.

Warning: Direct exposure to the Source may result in unwanted regeneration immediately following such injuries as gunshots. If you are exposed to the Source, please contact your local terraformist medic for immediate treatment. The Source is not to be handled by fish-men, gangsters, or sad onions under the age of three.

The briefcase contained a Golden Ticket.

I can't take credit for this one: an old cyber pal of mine on a now long since defunct Tarantino forum came up with it. But I always liked the notion. Don't know how much a Golden Ticket would glow but I'm sure there are ways to Hand Wave your way out of that (I wouldn't care to try) and can't you just see Quentin Just-Call-Me-Mr.-Humorous-Homage doing it?

The briefcase contains stacks of photographs, and they're all pictures of feet.

Look, this is Tarantino we're talking about.

The briefcase contains either Black Mask issue 1 (The Maltese Falcon) or the mask that gave its name to the magazine.

Since the working title for the movie Pulp Fiction was Black Mask.

• Alternatively, the briefcase contains the Maltese Falcon itself: either one of the props from the set of the 1941 movie, or—if Pulp Fiction and The Maltese Falcon take place in the same continuity—the actual MacGuffin from the story, as in the real one, not the replica that the characters in The Maltese Falcon turned out to be chasing.

The Briefcase is God's personal minifridge.

This explains the golden glow when it's opened, as well as the "miracles" bestowed upon those who carry it. People shed tears of joy upon looking at its contents: an unlimited amount of root beer cans, the drink of the gods.

The briefcase contains plutonium.

Doc Brown told the Libyans to steal the plutonium and drop it off at a safe house. The plan was once the authorities stopped looking for it, he'd pick it up to make a nuke. Then, he paid Marsellus to send his men to the apartment and make it look like the mob stole the briefcase full of plutonium so they wouldn't come after him for not building a nuke. Somehow, they figured out he paid Marsellus and as a last ditch effort, offered them a nuke shell full of pinball parts to buy more time for building the Delorean.

The briefcase contains Tinkerbell.

It shines brightly. It's described as beautiful. It's very lightweight (look at little effort Vincent uses turning it over when he puts it on the counter in preppy kids' apartment).Obviously the preppy kids are Lost Boys who owe alot of money to Marsellus, but they don't have the money so they catch Tink, tie her up and put her in the briefcase, then they kick back, eat some Big Kahuna burgers and wait for the pick-up. KNOCK KNOCK.

The briefcase is Pandora's Box

The light is Elpis, the hope that remained in the box after all the world's evils escaped.

The briefcase contains a recently stolen and very valuable artifact from a Museum, Palace or Temple

The theft was very high-profile: "Is that what I think it is?"

The briefcase contains a certificate of authenticity as a prop from Dial M for Murder or one of several Alfred Hitchcock Presents... episodes.

It's not what Ringo/Pumpkin thinks it is- Either a forgery of the actual briefcase, or not the briefcase from {=D Mf M=}. Whichever it is, he's a Know-Nothing Know-It-All.

The briefcase contains Marsellus Wallace's birth certificate.

Pumpkin thinks it's a birth certificate. Honey Bunny just thinks it's some sort of shiny, awesome certificate of coolness because of the gold edging/frame that was added after-the-fact.

The briefcase contains the Cosmic Cube.

And we finally see it in the Stinger of Thor.

• It all makes sense now. Jules quits a life of crime and takes off with the Cosmic Cube and retires as a piano player, only to be shot during the wedding massacre... right in the eye, in fact. He then joins the US government, using the Cosmic Cube as leverage to become the leader of SHIELD.
• All of Tarantino's movies take place in the same universe. If he were to direct a Deadpool movie (Really, who's the first director you can name who regularly mixes violence with humor?), that would put Pulp Fiction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and then this theory might as well be true.

The briefcase contains... nothing.

• It's just a really nice briefcase.

The briefcase contains...Miss Canada's hymen.

This'll make sense if you've seen Oancitizen's review of Sweet Movie.

The briefcase contains...a pice of or the full Triforce.

Beautiful golden glow disparately wanted by an evil overlord. Seems pretty concrete to me.

The briefcase contains Mothra's priestesses.

The briefcase contains the Head of Vecna.

Pumkin's comment of "It's beautiful" hints that he's a seasoned enough roleplayer to be familiar with the items' legacy.

The briefcase contains the most valuable recording in the world.

On August 27, 1965, Elvis Presley and The Beatles met at Presley's Bel-Air home. And yes, the festivities did include a jam session, which no one thought to record... or so it was thought. This ties into the deleted scene referenced below, in which Mia goes on about the Elvis/Beatles preference importance. A recording of the icons together might conceivably bring about world peace, which would also explain why the briefcase glows. Brett probably found the tape when his rich parents bought Presley's home from the estate. Of course, that doesn't explain how Brett got mixed up with Mr. Wallace... HAS anyone ever explained how Brett got mixed up with Mr. Wallace?

The briefcase contains temptation.

What is inside varies from person to person. It may in fact be temptation from the Devil since the combination is "6-6-6-."

• Alternatively, it might contain a miniature Mirror of Erised.

The briefcase contains the only copy of Half-Life 3.

"It's beautiful."

The briefcase contains... the Aurora borealis

Yes, the Aurora Borealis: At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within his briefcase.

The briefcase is what what remains of Quillguin's present

Somebody founds the ashes and found a way to rebuild it in form of a briefcase, the box emits a similar light when open, Vicent was confused because his wish is something amazingly mundane and doesn't understand why Marcellus would protect so many something so easy to find.

The briefcase contains Marsellus Wallace's Phylactery

• He's really a lich, and we just don't see him use any magic on camera.

The briefcase contains some sort of hormonal drug for transgender women that went for high prices on the black market in Los Angeles during The '90s.

Additionally, Mia is trans, and Marsellus had Tony thrown out a window for trying to out her.

The briefcase contains a recording of the eighteen and a half minutes that Richard Nixon had wiped from the Watergate tapes.

The briefcase contains a Philosopher's Stone.

The briefcase contains a tape of The Day the Clown Cried and/or The Star Wars Holiday Special.

The briefcase contains A MYSTERIOUS COLOR UNLIKE ANY SEEN ON EARTH!

The glow we see in the movie is just the closest approximation that can show up on film.

The briefcase contains the White Witch's enchanted Turkish Delight.

The gangsters either wanted to sell it and get people hooked, or were hooked themselves.

The briefcase contains the N word pass that Samuel L. Jackson gave Quentin Tarantino.

The briefcase contains a secret string that opens the secret compartment of the secret box, revealing one embarrassing snapshot of SpongeBob at the Christmas party!

Merry Christmas, SpongeBob!

The briefcase contains the Ruby Slippers.

As with the Maltese Falcon mentioned above, they could be either the actual slippers from Oz itself, or more realistically one of the pairs designed as props for the movie.

What color is a Pumpkin?

• Mr Orange is now Honey Bunny's Pumpkin
  • To add on, the cops at the end of Reservoir Dogs shot Mr White, realizing he'd kill their mole.
    • Not if the two movies take place on the same day.

The Katana in the pawn shop belonged to Bill.

• Or to The Bride, who pawned it after giving up her life as an assassin at the end of Pt. II.
  • Or Budd, since he admitted to pawning his Hanso sword sometime in the past.
    • Budd lied about selling the sword. The Bride found the sword in his trailer and used it in the fight against Elle Driver.
    • Technically Budd never said that he sold the sword. He said he pawned it. Pawning and selling are two different things; pawning is more of a loan. You give them something as collateral, they give you cash. If you don't pay them back within a preset time limit, they keep the property and can sell it. Budd could have pawned it and got it back later. However, still wouldn't fit as Budd pawned his in El Paso, Texas, not L.A.
    • My guess is that it's Vernita Green's (Copperhead), who was A) living in Pasadena, and B) didn't have her sword, either, when the Bride came calling.
    • Was it established that all the D.i.V.A.S. had swords? Copperhead was a knife fighter.
    • Budd and Bill were the only ones who had Hanzo swords. O-Ren didn't have one, which is part of why she lost her duel and the Bride obviously had never seen a real Hanzo until she met the man herself. In Vol 2, Elle had to use Bride's sword to defend against Budd's old sword since she apparently didn't have one of her own and knew the Hanzo would beat whatever blade she had on her.
    • Impossible, Kill Bill is a movie that exists in the Tarantinoverse, it's not directly a part of the timeline.
    • In keeping with the above, maybe the film crew that made Kill Bill in-universe used the katana from the pawnshop as a prop?

Marsellus Wallace and his gang work for Greenpeace.

And the group of people Jules and Vince needed shotguns for at the start of the movie were PETA or another similar organization, while Butch represents greenhouse emissions (saving Greenpeace by giving them a necessary evil)

• What

The briefcase passes judgment on all who touch it.

Of the seven people known to have touched the briefcase, five of them are now dead, and one was brutally raped. Several of the deaths happened under odd and improbable circumstances as well; one was armed with a big gun, got the drop on Jules and Vincent, and missed every shot he fired at point-blank range at them, Marvin died when a gun casually waved at him was accidentally fired, and Vincent only died because he happened to be in the bathroom at the wrong time and Butch wanted some Pop-Tarts at the wrong time, not to mention the randomness of Marsellus' ending up in Maynard's shop. The only one who escapes unscathed is Jules, who had decided to turn away from his life of crime; hence, the suitcase spared him.

• So you're saying that the briefcase is the Ark of the Covenant? And Jules survives because he quotes scripture?
  • And repented of his sins, went out and sinned no more.
• What about "Pumpkin" the robber?
  • Pumpkin technically never actually touched the briefcase, but the briefcase passed its judgement of him via Jules — as a fairly low-level criminal who, presumably, never hurt anyone (we don't know what the sins of the kids who Jules and Vincent liberated it from were), he was found worthy of surviving for another day. Presumably after this little scare, he and Honey Bunny seriously reconsidered their lives of crime as well.

They don't speak English in What

Brett's partial inability to anwser questions while being interrogated by Winnfield is a combination of being under pressure and not fully knowing English.

Jules is an angel.

Divine Intervention stopped the bullets, because Jules himself stopped them. He doesn't like when people blaspheme, he quotes the Bible, and he attempts to save all he can. Marvin and Vince were failed attempts, while Jimmie, Pumpkin, and Honey Bunny were successes. Brett, Flock of Seagulls, and Hand Cannon were agents of the Devil, Marsellus Wallace's soul is in the briefcase, and Jules was sent down to restore order and save all he could.

• Interestingly enough one of Travolta's films after this one was him playing the archangel Michael, a gritty, warrior angel.

Butch is the one who keyed Vincent's Malibu.

• Confirmed in the commentary, actually.
  • Incorrect, actually; though it would have been possible in the first draft of the script (where Vincent & Jules arrive at Marsellus's club in it, and park alongside Fabienne's Honda to boot), that sequence was removed from the final product, leaving how they got there unclear. In addition, it would indicate that Butch either lucked out in picking the correct car to take his retribution on or has enough deductive reasoning to figure out it belongs to Vincent - for all he knows, it could have been Jules's car, or an employee's. Anyway, according to the linearized timeline of the film, Vincent visits Lance later that afternoon, wherein he complains about his car getting keyed "the other day" so: a) it couldn't have been after he mocked Butch that morning, otherwise he'd have said so (unless, of course, he's so deep into his addiction that his sense of linear time has been dulled, but given he is able to pick Mia up and get to Jackrabbit Slim's in time for their reservation after getting high, that seems unlikely), and: b) while he is a self-absorbed asshole, one would hope he has enough intelligence to figure out who must have committed the act and not feel the need to gain sympathy from his drug dealer by griping about it.

Vince's death was a Batman Gambit by Mia Wallace.

As Mia said, if Marsellus found out about what had happened while he was away, they both would have been in big trouble. Mia had only known Vince for one night, and maybe he seemed trustworthy, but Mia couldn't know that. So two days later, when Marsellus plans to go to Butch's apartment to ambush him, Mia makes a remark to how good a guy Vince is, and convinces Marsellus to take Vince along. Then there's also the fact that, during the scene at Jackrabbit Slim's where Vince questions her about the incident with Tony Rocky Horror, Mia seems to know a lot more than she lets on.

• Alternatively, she intended for Marsellus to die at Butch's hands, because if Marsellus were to die, Mia would be in line to inherit control of Marsellus' mafia empire.

Vincent contracted an STD while in Europe

However, he is unwilling to tell anyone the truth. He uses his own needles so no one else will get it from him. He resists the temptation to sleep with Mia Wallace, not because he'd get in trouble with Marsellus for that alone, but because he really doesn't want Mia to get the STD as well, which would get him immediately killed by Marsellus, no questions asked. When Vincent is at Jimmy's and the Wolf tells him and Jules to strip down to their bare ass, he hesitated, not sure if anyone else would recognize the symptoms. Later on, Vincent did nothing to stop Butch from gunning him down, knowing that it was either that or die slowly and painfully to the disease.

• This also explains why he didn't want to use the same straw as Mia.
  Mia: You can use my straw, I don't have cooties.
  Vincent: Maybe I do.
• It could be syphilis, and disease-induced dementia (rather than cheap, sometimes legal Dutch drugs) is the cause of his stupidity and disturbing lack of professionalism during his first post-"vacation" job.
  • Syphilis takes a long time to get to that point, though. It's possible, but he'd have to have contracted it before his time in Europe.

Marsellus Wallace took part in the sleep eradication experiments from the X-Files episode "Sleepless".

That's why he has the elastoplast covering the scar where part of his brain stem was removed. The briefcase contains the drug subjects had to take to boost their serotonin levels.

Fabienne was actually paid by Marsellus to set up Butch.

How else can you explain why she "forgot" Butch's watch and why Vincent happened to be there when Butch went to retrieve it?

• She was preoccupied with packing up the things they would actually need for a life on the lam, and Vincent was there just in case Butch was dumb enough to go back home (since he'd have to be a complete idiot to go back home without knowing the risks, it would be like a day off).

The movie takes place during a "Groundhog Day" Loop

There are a couple minor variations in the two scenes that are shown twice— In the diner, "Honey Bunny"'s line is slightly different the second time- from "Any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every motherfucking last one of you!", to "Any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every one of you motherfuckers!". Also, in the preps' hideout, the first time Jules and Vince kill Brett, there's no bullet holes in the wall— the second time through, they're there even before the "divine intervention" scene.

• Or, the first part is seen and heard from Hunny Bunny and Pumpkin's perspective, while the second one is from Jules and Vincent's perspective, so we hear the line differently. It's like any event with multiple witnesses. If you ask ten people what they say, you'll get fifteen different answers. Fridge Brilliance.

Marsellus Wallace is the twin brother of Dutch.

Dutch and Marsellus are identical, in both looks and personality. Both are a quiet, soft-spoken, slow-to-anger, bald Scary Black Man who lead a moderately-sized organization. Black Lagoon and Pulp Fiction take place only a few years apart, therefore making sense that they'd still look the same.

• If we count events in Pulp Fiction to happen in the same year the movie was out, 1994, they happen simultaneously. Black Lagoon is canonically set in 1994 too.

Jules is a Beatles fan.

There's a deleted scene where Mia Wallace presents her theory that there are two type of people in the world — those who are fans of Elvis Presley first, and those who are fans of The Beatles first, and while you can like both, you always love one more. In this scene, Vincent identifies himself as an 'Elvis' man. In many ways, Jules is presented as the exact opposite to Vincent; Jules is black, Vincent's white, Jules is apparently clean (excepting his enthusiasm to go to Amsterdam to try the readily available pot) while Vincent is a drug-addict, Jules is spiritually-inclined where Vincent is a skeptic, Jules is more respectful and thoughtful where Vincent is more abrasive and impulsive, Jules is a bit more competent where Vincent is a bit more clumsy, and so on. Given this theme of opposites within their relationship, it would make sense that where Vincent identifies himself as an 'Elvis' man, Jules would be more inclined to identify himself as a 'Beatles' man. Furthermore, upon hearing Pumpkin's clear English accent, Jules constantly addresses him as 'Ringo', referencing the Beatle of the same name — now, you obviously don't need to be a fan of The Beatles to know who they were and associate them with being English, but it would be a fairly easy leap for someone who was already inclined to like the Beatles to make.

Hence, Jules is a fan of the Beatles.

The "Hand Cannon" fired at Jules and Vincent was loaded with blanks

As noted elsewhere, some of the bullet holes in the wall are visible before the guy starts shooting. Set in Los Angeles, one of the roommates is an actor who took home a prop gun loaded with blanks.

• So he knowingly fired a prop gun (a six shot revolver at that) at two ill tempered hitmen carrying real guns with essentially bottomless magazines?
  • It doesn't have to be the same roommate. One guy brings home a prop gun from his acting gig, the shooter grabs it when he finds out the hitmen are coming, not having been told it was a prop gun.
  • In a situation like that people are more likely to act out of impulse, he probably grabbed a prop loaded with blanks not realizing it until the gun was fake. If two hitmen came into your house and started shooting people you would try to grab whatever you can to defend yourself.

The film is actually a prequel to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically The Incredible Hulk

After the diner scene, Jules and Ringo both leave their life of crime. They are recruited into SHIELD and the Royal Marines respectively for their skills. Ringo receives the identity of Emil Blonsky, and eventually becomes Abomination, while Jules receives the identity of Nick Fury. Oh, and the briefcase contains the Tesseract.

• Nick Fury doesn't age in the original Marvel universe. It is unsure whether he has this power as well in the Cinematic Universe, but if he did then this theory would be impossible.
• A reference to the Ezekiel Verse occurs on Nick Fury's fake tombstone at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The lost childhood of Vincent Vega

When their folks split up, shortly after Vincent was born, the Vega brothers each went with a different parent. Older brother Victor remained with Dad in LA. Vincent, known to his mother as "Vinnie," went with her to Brooklyn. There, she resumed her maiden name and changed Vinnie's name as well. Devoutly Catholic, Vinnie's mom did her best to raise her boy right. Since Vinnie loved his mom almost as much as she loved him, she nearly succeeded; when a wise and streetwise teacher became a father figure to Vinnie in high school, it seemed her prayers of a good life for her boy would be answered. Sadly, the teacher was promoted to administration, the young man began to wander, and just after graduation from James Buchanan High School, Vinnie Barbarino's older brother sent him ill-gotten cash for a plane ticket to the coast. Vincent Vega was reborn, with the consequences seen in the film....

Fabienne was pregnant, or at least wanted kids

The whole "pot belly" spiel was just an incredibly roundabout way of bringing up the subject. Her unusual choice of breakfast might have been her cravings starting to kick in.

Divine Intervention DID occur...

...in a sense. The god of this universe, Tarantino, stopped the bullets because he needed Jules and Vincent alive to keep the story moving. Why God!Tarantino just didn't write out the prep in the bathroom is unknown, for Tarantino works in mysterious and nonlinear ways.

The Bible passage Jules quotes is real in-universe

We know the Tarantinoverse is more accepting of violence and badassery than our universe in modern times, maybe this goes back to biblical times. Pumpkin/Ringo looks unsurprised when Jules recites it to him, possibly meaning he's heard it before. Brett's confused when he hears it because he lied about reading the Bible in an attempt to appeal to Jules's religious sympathies.

• That would actually make more sense backwards. Brett is confused because he has read the Bible, and he's never heard that bit before. Meanwhile, Ringo hasn't read the Bible, so he wouldn't know a real passage from a fake one.
• Alternatively, Jules belongs to a heterodox sect whose version of Ezekiel 25:17 differs from the version Brett, and the audience, are familiar with.

The version of the Bible that Jules quotes is a faulty edition from Aziraphale's shop.

This could also explain why the shooter in the apartment missed. Jules (or else someone close to him, from whom he got the book) paid a hefty sum for that Bible. Aziraphale was grateful for the business, and he saved Jules and Vincent to repay the favor and hopefully nudge them onto the path to salvation. Alternatively, Jules acquired his Bible elsewhere, but Aziraphale knew of that edition and saved the gangsters so he could get his hands on that copy himself—which would make more sense than if he sold the Bible to Jules, given that Aziraphale likes to collect Bible errata but hates to part with any book in his collection.

Jimmy is actually a scary badass.

Earlier, we see Jules making Brett shit his pants, now, when talking to Jimmy, he's suddenly all timid. What does Jimmy do for a living, anyway?

• Jules needed Jimmy's help so it makes sense to try to keep him on his good side. Besides, Jimmy is likely a fence.

The Gimp is the Rubber Man.

Perhaps the same one from American Horror Story.

Jimmy and Jules were partners before Jules started working for Marcellus Wallace

Jules and Jimmy were working together, doing whatever Jimmy did before he retired. Jules was probably the muscle of the operation, and Jimmy was the brains. They started getting into the same kinds of business as Marcellus' organization, and Marcellus acted like an organized criminal, and decided to include Jules and Jimmy. Maybe with a join, retire or die ultimatum.

The Buddy Holly waiter

The Buddy Holly waiter at Jackrabbit Slim's is Mr. Pink in hiding after the events of Reservoir Dogs, hence why Vincent doesn't think much of his waiting skills.

Nick Fury is Jules Winnfield.

His real name is Jules Winnfield he was originally a hitman until a "Moment of Clarity" led to him quitting to walk the earth until he found a calling, this led to him becoming a government agent for many years bouncing around agencies and using multiple codenames such as Sergeant West, Agent Neville Flynn, Danny Roman, Augustus Gibbons, Henry Herald 'H' Humphries, Sgt. Luger before rising through the ranks too become Director of S.H.E.I.L.D using the codename Nick Fury which was previously used by another agent who may or may not be Micheal Knight but that's a WMG for another day. after faking his death he retired to become a piano player named Rufus (with a glass eye).

Jules Winnfield is Mace Windu

After losing his hand to Anakin and being launched out the window, Windu survived. Realizing he can't stop Palpatine, he goes into exile out of the galaxy and uses the force to keep himself alive and look young. After thousands of years, he finds earth some time before the film. Unfortunately, that time left him more emotional and angry more than he usually was. He becomes a hitman and uses the force to help him in his line of work. His quote from the The Bible was not from that but rather a Jedi teaching that he altered to fit in on this planet. The man in the bathroom with the handcannon would've killed him and Vincent if not for Windu using the force to move the bullets. He calls it a Divine Intervention to throw everybody off. He decides to retire after sensing that he will die in the hands of Butch while he's on lookout. He also subtly uses mind tricks to convince Ringo to surrender.

• How did he grow his hand back? Eventually a mechanical prosthetic would rot away like Luke's in the force awakens. Also "a LONG LONG time ago in a galaxy FAR away."
• Alternatively, in keeping with the above theory that Nick Fury is Jules: maybe in the Tarantinoverse, Jules played both Fury and Windu after giving up his life of crime for an acting career.

Jules watched The Bodyguard as a youth

Jules is quoting the US version of Karate Kiba because he grew up watching Asian martial arts and action movies and going to church, instilling within him a sense of righteous indignation as he carries the attitudes of those films. He may not remember where the quote came from, either watching the movie from television or from a rental store, but it stuck with him into adulthood, until it became just something cool to say, but his criminal persona is partly an act inspired by the attitude of the crime movies he watched. He has to be the tough guy just to be like the characters from those movies, until he doesn't even remember where the quote came from, just that it is part of him.

"I been saying that shit for years. And if you heard it, that meant your ass. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was some cold-blooded shit to say..."

Vincent deliberately killed Marvin

Marvin is in the room with Brett and the others long before Jules and Vincent arrive to collect the briefcase, so he knows about the guy with the gun in the bathroom. Marvin doesn't warn them about another armed guy in the situation before he comes out blazing. Vincent, being paranoid, might have assumed that Marvin wanted them dead for some reason, so when they take him with them, Vincent is constantly waving his gun and waiting for an opportunity to plug "the traitor" Marvin without making it look like murder.

When it happens, Vincent is unusually calm; he says, "Oh man, I shot Marvin in the face," rather than something like, "Oh God! Marvin! I just- in- in the face! He- He's dead!" which infers that the shooting is something Vincent was expecting. He was just probably not expecting it to be so messy.

Jimmie uses the N-Word to describe Marvin's corpse because he is predicting what his wife would say.

Considering Jimmie is married to a black woman in the late 20th century, it is not such a stretch to believe that Bonnie herself would probably use similar terminology when confronting her husband about the dead guy in their garage.

Zed and Maynard don't care about the real names of their victims, much less know them.

Perhaps "Russell" (as in "Jack Russell") is their way of mocking a former victim who they treated like a dog.

"Rusell" is "The Gimp"

Following the former theory they treat The Gimp somewhat like a guardian dog even putting him a chain, The Gimp himself acts like a dog or other animal, sleeping in a cage, communicating via sounds and gestures instead of words and doing few things appart following Maynard and Zed's commands.

After abandoning his life of crime, Jules went on to become an actor …

… eventually making a cameo as Rufus in Kill Bill, which exists in-universe as a spinoff of the Fox Force Five pilot.

Building on the "trans Mia" theory in the "what's in the briefcase" folder …

Mia is the Narrator from Fight Club after fleeing to Los Angeles, transitioning, and pursuing an acting career.

Larry Dimmick from Reservoir Dogs is Jimmie's adoptive brother.

Winston Wolfe is Larry's identical twin adopted by a different family, hence why they both look like Harvey Keitel but have different surnames.

The waiter who serves Mia and Vince is Mr. Pink from Reservoir Dogs.

Besides being played by Steve Buscemi, Pink is the only member of the heist confirmed to have survived, and he can be heard surrendering after making a failed getaway attempt at the end. Due to Pink's high standards for professionalism, he likely was able to cut a deal with the police to go into witness protection in exchange for ratting on several other criminal gangs he had connections with.

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