History Characters / Portal

* WomenAreWiser: Probably not coincidentally, each of the corrupted cores have a male voice--or androgynous, in the case of the Curiosity Core--and none of them offer any insights worth hearing. [=GLaDOS=] also worries that [[spoiler:Wheatley]] lacks the mental discipline to do without "solution euphoria" for more than a few minutes (as painful a process as denying drugs to an addict), which turns out to be the case. [=GLaDOS=] also has it together better than her creator, wannabe inventor and shower curtain tycoon Cave Johnson. Though she, too, ends up killing most of Aperture's staff, at least she does it intentionally. However, it must be remembered that "has it together better" is something of a relative statement in this case and isn't saying ''that'' much, considering that [=GLaDOS=] is still a monomaniacal psychotic (literal) killing machine; she might have incompetence and come across as a bit more put together than the male characters, but she more than makes up for it in other horrible ways...

* NeverMyFault: At one point, while using an excursion funnel to get to the next test chamber, you are threatened by another chamber that's about to fall in your way. He decides to turn the funnel off, which almost kills you. In the next chamber, he claims you told him to do it.

* WomenAreWiser: Probably not coincidentally, each of the corrupted cores have a male voice--or androgynous, in the case of the Curiosity Core--and none of them offer any insights worth hearing. [=GLaDOS=] also worries that [[spoiler:Wheatley]] lacks the mental discipline to do without "solution euphoria" for more than a few minutes (as painful a process as denying drugs to an addict), which turns out to be the case. [=GLaDOS=] also has it together better than her creator, wannabe inventor and shower curtain tycoon Cave Johnson. Though she, too, ends up killing most of Aperture's staff, at least she does it intentionally.

--->'''Wheatley:''' [[spoiler:Step ''FIVE!'' Booby-trap the stalemate button!]]

** [[spoiler:For all she claims to only be acting out of self-interest and laziness, she ''really'' didn't have to save Chell's life at the end of Portal 2. Many players also thought it was sweet that she gave her a scorched companion cube after letting her go.]]

* PragmaticVillainy: [[spoiler:She says at the end of ''Portal 2'' that killing Chell is just more trouble than it's worth and lets her go. Not because she likes her or anything.]]

* OppositeSexClone: Possibly Matriarch Cave, though since he still has a male-sounding voice he's probably just pretending to be female.

* UndyingLoyalty: His employees followed his every word, no matter how crazy. Anyone else acting like this would have been thrown in jail, possibly murdered.
** Even [[spoiler:Caroline]] seems to have some of this -- even after [[spoiler:he inflicted involuntary BrainUploading on her, she still seems to hold some affection for him, if [=GLaDOS=]'s response to his final prerecorded message is anything to go by]].

* VillainousLegacy: He's the presumably long-decsed madman who, more or less, created everything connected to Aperture, including [=GLaDOS=].

* GreaterScopeVillain: He's the madman who, more or less, created everything connected to Aperture, including [=GLaDOS=].

%% * OnlySaneEmployee
* CreepyChild: Greg's creepy daughter enjoys saying weird things to test subjects when she sneaks into Cave's office.
* OnlyOneName

* SpearCounterpart: He's a male version of Caroline, plus the special affection Cave Johnson holds for an assistant of the same gender.

* AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: One of the alternate Caves sells Aperture Science's inventions to the public, which leads the company to be so successful that he buys out their main competitor Black Mesa and shuts down the anomalous materials experimentation that would cause the [[AlienInvasion resonance cascade]], preventing the events of the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series from ever occurring.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: One Cave and the inhabitants of his universe have transformed into beings of pure light; though pleased, they'd originally hoped to transform into pillars of pure salt.

* BrainUploading: [=CaveDOS=]

** There's also the Cave from the world where Film/SoylentGreen is commonplace, who is more concerned with its prices than its ingredients.
* IllBoy: One of the parallel Caves is a little boy with a terminal illness who seemingly watches test subjects overcome their own obstacles as a way of motivating himself to recover. [[BlackComedy He doesn't make it]].
* InsectoidAliens: Mantis!Cave.

-->'''Cave Johnson''': They're not even really testing anymore. They just all portaled in, made a human pyramid, [[EnemyEatsYourLunch ate my lunch]] and portaled out.
* LadyLand: Cavina Johnson's world.

** Warden!Cave had to tell his prisoners that the [[AirVentEscape air ducts were not an escape route]], but how they ventilate the facility. [[spoiler:When he's shived after a power outage shut off the forcefield doors, he laments how actual doors would have been much better]].

* ProperlyParanoid: There's one Cave Johnson who was monitoring multiverse activity and wanted to build defenses in case of an invasion. Unfortunately for him, the staff didn't listen, though probably because he wanted to use their wages to build the defenses and more monitoring equipment.

--> "Whoa! Chariots chariots. For some reason, some of the audio was bleeding through in this universe. Don't know if you were catching the subtext there, but that computer Cave is crazy. So: [[spoiler:Greg was right. [[ForWantOfANail As of now]], [[RetGone we are cancelling the]] [[SelfDemonstrating/GLaDOS genetic lifeform disk operating system initiative]].]]"
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: [=CaveDOS=] simply finds his immortality boring, especially since he can read every book ever written in just a few seconds. Even altering them all to be about the Franchise/{{ghostbusters}} gets dull after a while.

* {{Leitmotif}}: There is a specific nameless tune associated with Wheatley that appears in several tracks throughout the game. It plays during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAeiqxNH3W0&t=1m1s Reconstructing More Science]], the moment when [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1gsKeTi1Bg&t=1m27s he betrays you]]]], and in his [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uAsD6lQV1I&t=3m49s boss battle]]]].

* HeroicMime: [=GLaDOS=] even complains about her lack of response in the final chamber. [[AC:"Are you even listening to me?"]] In the sequel, Wheatley seems to think that overexposure to the stasis process left her unable to talk; when he asks her to, she just jumps. [=GLaDOS=] even calls her a "mute lunatic," and her file shows that she refused to answer one of the questions asked to her. Of course, it's possible she specifically chooses not to reply to Aperture's overseers, because they're dicks and she doesn't want to give them the satisfaction.

* MadeOfIron: Aside from falling, which is explicitly [[HandWave handwaved]] by her foot protection, Chell can survive things no human should be able to, but that's largely due to GameplayAndStorySegregation (the story probably assumes Chell is strong enough not to ever get shot, for example). However, one specific example of this being played straight is when she survives [[spoiler:Wheatley blowing up the stalemate button. Even ''he's'' shocked. And then she spends several seconds in vacuum]]. On the other hand, Chell spends at least twelve hours unconscious afterwards, so even she has limits.

* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Chell wears a pair of ankle-springs in order to ensure her legs aren't shattered when she comes flying out of a portal. [[WordOfGod The commentary bubbles]] indicate early on that the reason was that playtesters complained that Chell could survive falls that would kill [[VideoGame/HalfLife Gordon Freeman]]. Despite the fact that the Advanced Knee Replacements are patently insufficient to protect her, [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief they stopped the complaints]], so mission accomplished!

* DidntThinkItThrough: Holds fast to a "shoot from the hip", All-American philosophy which takes him far...but breaks down when he attempts to apply it to science.

* PhlebotinumRebel: [=GLaDOS=] really should have thought more on giving her that portal gun...

Small white machines sold for home defense to [[DeadlyEuphemism "Resolve Crises"]], and placed throughout Test Chambers to load anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their path with bullets. Though they sound like they're speaking pre-recorded messages most of the time, they're just as alive as the rest of Aperture's robots.

Small white machines sold for home defense to [[DeadlyEumphemism "Resolve Crises"]], and placed throughout Test Chambers to load anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their path with bullets. Though they sound like they're speaking pre-recorded messages most of the time, they're just as alive as the rest of Aperture's robots.

Small white machines sold for home defense to ''[[AC:[[DeadlyEuphemism Resolve Crises]]]]'', and placed throughout Test Chambers to load anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their path with bullets. Though they sound like they're speaking pre-recorded messages most of the time, they're just as alive as the rest of Aperture's robots.

Small white machines placed throughout some test chambers to ''[[AC:[[DeadlyEuphemism dispense product.]]]]'' Though they sound like they're speaking pre-recorded messages most of the time, they're just as alive as the rest of Aperture's robots.

** In ''Portal 2'', if the player stands directly in front of one of his murals, you'll hear [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNvFd4SOfj8 this.]] To date, all attempts to fully and accurately transcribe this rambling have met with failure.

* AdorableEvilMinions: [[AC:Hi. Target acquired. Firing.]]

Small white machines placed throughout some test chambers to ''[[AC:[[DeadlyEuphamism dispense product.]]]]'' Though they sound like they're speaking pre-recorded messages most of the time, they're just as alive as the rest of Aperture's robots.

Small white machines placed throughout some test chambers to ''[[AC:[[DummiedOut dispense product.]]]]'' Though they sound like they're speaking canned, pre-recorded lines most of the time, they're just as alive as the rest of Aperture's robots.

Small white machines placed throughout the tests to ''[[AC:[[DummiedOut dispense product.]]]]''

* MissionControlIsOffItsMeds: She runs Apeture Science, and yeah, she's batshit insane. [[spoiler:Insane enough to be considered too corrupt to run the facility.]]

* MissionControlIsOffItsMeds: She runs Apeture Science, and yeah, she's batshit insane.

* RealityEnsues: Holds fast to a "shoot from the hip", All-American philosophy which takes him far...but breaks down when he attempts to apply it to science.

-->'''Johnson:''' Say goodbye, Caroline!\\
'''Caroline:''' Goodbye, Caroline!

* RousingSpeech: "This robot. '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Owes! You! Money!!"]]'''