Line #75 Fridge/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole


1	!FridgeBrilliance
2	* If you attempt to skip the opening cutscene, The Coon/Cartman instead interrupts saying you don't want to skip it. Keep it up and he'll eventually just skip the entire game and send you straight to the end credits sequence instead. This could be seen as a dig at those wanting to [[PlayTheGameSkipTheStory skip the cutscenes and getting straight to the gameplay]], but this could also be Cartman throwing another tantrum [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou but directing his vengeance at you, the player]]. The entire intro is centered around him. He wants to be in charge of everything. His ultimate displays magazine covers and posters all about him. He wants all the attention and success. This is [[ItsAllAboutMe Cart]][[SmallNameBigEgo man]], after all. He'll gladly take away your game if you don't give him what he wants.
3	* Why does Mysterion/Kenny get relegated to Netflix? The Coon/Cartman likely did it as a dig because he's poor. Alternatively, it's been established in the show that Kenny is both a more popular hero than Cartman ("The Coon") and the others' preferred leader (the "Coon and Friends" trilogy). Naturally Cartman wants to [[ReassignedToAntarctica downplay Kenny's role in the franchise]].
4	** Also doubles as a dig at the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Marvel Cinematic Universe]], where Daredevil, their closest analog to Mysterion, is relegated to a [[Series/Daredevil2015 Netflix series]].
5	* Possibly coincidental, but the New Kid's backstory consists of them walking in on their parents [[PrimalScene doing the dirty]]. Something they really ''did'' do in [[VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth the last game]], so technically, that really ''is'' part of their backstory.
6	* While the confusion regarding the New Kid actually being a girl is generally PlayedForLaughs, it ''does'' make sense if she's a trans girl. Throughout the entirety of ''The Stick of Truth'', she never once ''spoke'' (until [[SuddenlySpeaking the very end of the game]], uttering classical "Screw you guys, I'm going home") let alone clarified her transgender status. So of course people will refer to her by her biological sex. [[FridgeLogic Then again, that just begs the question of how they failed to notice their biological sex should they be biologically female]].
7	* Should the New Kid be a girl, the New Kid’s mother’s momentary pause before referring to her child as “him” in the beginning of ''The Stick of Truth'' could be seen in retrospect as her simply trying to adjust after changing her daughter’s gender identity in an attempt to hide her from the government.
8	* Cartman being more of a jerk to the New Kid this time around coincides with his Coon character and the change from fantasy setting to superhero setting. In the show, when the boys are playing around with a fantasy setting, Cartman tends to be more heroic and determined to complete their mission as seen in episodes like "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers" and "Make Love, Not Warcraft". By comparison, he's much more manipulative and selfish when he's the Coon, trying to frame others to get his way and even taming Cthulhu to destroy the things he hates.
9	** Cartman's more dickish behavior toward the New Kid would also make sense depending on what choices the player has made back in ''Stick of Truth'', more specifically; whether or not the New Kid has switched sides with Kyle or has decided to fight Cartman at the end of the school siege. If the New Kid has made those choices in canon, Cartman likely figured giving the New Kid any friendliness would just bite him in the ass and sees the mere act of letting them join Coon and Friends as a chance for the New Kid to earn back his trust, [[spoiler: which would make Cartman's own betrayal all the more ironic.]]
10	*** Additionally, Cartman may have figured that if they recruited the New Kid, they might again grow powerful enough to surpass him and possibly upstage him (just as how in the Fighters of Zaron game, the New Kid worked their way up to becoming King and unified both Kupa Keep and the Drow Elves). Cartman may have ultimately decided that recruiting the New Kid was worth the risk since their tendency of being a HeroicMime assures him that the New Kid won't ask for much in return for their loyalty and therefore may have no interest in seizing control of Coon and Friends.
11	** Alternatively, the Stick of Truth could have been Cartman playing the game for the game's sake - despite the Stick being an artifact of omnipotent power in-game, he knows that in the real world it's just a stick. However, with the superhero franchises, there's a real (if stretched) chance of him making boatloads of money, which is something Cartman has shown in the past to be cutthroat, ruthless, and a serious dick about.
12	* Why are so many of Butters minions Mexicans? Because he was one of their heroes, Mantequilla.
13	* In ''The Stick of Truth'', Kyle and Butters were considered the most powerful companions for combat purposes. [[spoiler:No wonder they are two of the buddies King Douchebag chooses for your fight with them.]]
14	* Why do the boys continue to refer to you as a male even after you choose to be female or non-binary? Because your Character Sheet refers to your superhero persona, not who you really are as a person. So as far as they know, you're a male person playing as a female/non-binary character. Other examples include Princess Kenny from ''The Stick of Truth'', Human Kite, Call Girl and Tupperware. All of whom identify as being non-binary yet are still referred to using gendered pronouns.
15	* Why is Human Kite an asexual gender-neutral? Because the alien species he belongs to are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin humanoid kites]]. Therefore, they wouldn't have a gender nor a sexuality because they're based on real kites, which are inanimate objects.
16	* Near the end of the game, the boys pin the blame on you for everything that's happened at least three times: after you [[spoiler: beat Doctor Timothy to near-death, in the genetics lab and after you accidentally send yourself and the boys forward in time to when Mitch Conner/Cartman has already been sworn into office]]. But when the New Kid [[spoiler:accidentally sends them ''further'' in time to when Mitch/Cartman has been mayor for a year]], they stop blaming you and start encouraging you instead. Why the sudden change in tone? Because as the [[spoiler:[=TimeFart=] started backfiring]], Morgan Freeman shouts that you didn't believe in yourself. The boys probably realized that blaming you for everything wasn't the best idea since it lowered your confidence and self-esteem, thus making their [[spoiler:jump forward in time]] their own fault.
17	* The game doesn't really give players the option to have the New Kid turn on Coon and Friends in favor of Freedom Pals (not that it matters since [[spoiler: Coon and Friends eventually assimilate into Freedom Pals after learning that they had a franchise plan that included everyone]]). But one can argue there are actually some legitimate reasons the New Kid wouldn't initially see siding with Freedom Pals as the better option.
18	** First off, [[spoiler: the New Kid, prior to defeating Doctor Timothy a second time, didn't know about their franchise plans, so they had no incentive to think they'd be given better treatment than what Coon and Friends have given them. Especially since Cartman [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe already has a history of being generous toward the New Kid.]]]]
19	** Secondly, the Freedom Pals has Kenny in their ranks, [[spoiler: who once betrayed and tried to kill the New Kid during the events of ''Stick of Truth''. So as far as the New Kid's concerned, why should they trust a group who has a known traitor in their ranks?]]
20	*** Speaking of Kenny, He tries to convince New Kid that Cartman is only working for his own gain, similar to Kyle's past attempts to get New Kid to turn on Cartman in ''Stick of Truth''. However, New Kid remembers when Kenny was aligned with Cartman back in the Stick of Truth days (and probably learned of previous times when Kenny sided with Cartman in the show proper) and probably thought Kenny was being hypocritical when he started speaking negatively about Cartman and therefore took Mysterion's words with a grain of salt.
21	*** This is open to some YMMV, as the New Kid starts off on the side of Coon and Friends. The group that has both Clyde and Craig in it at the start. Both boys played the role of EvilOverlord and TheDragon, respectively, in ''The Stick of Truth''.
22	*** Perhaps, but the New Kid was nowhere nearly as close to Clyde and Craig as they were to Kenny, so [[spoiler:Kenny's betrayal would sting a lot harder]].
23	*** Also, since we don't know much about what the kids were doing between the events of the two games, as far as we know, Craig and Clyde could've done something to have earned the New Kid's forgiveness and thus earned their way back into the Fighters of Zaron Game.
24	** Thirdly, Most of the New Kid's encounters with Freedom Pals (especially in the first half of the game) involve them making vague claims and their franchise is destined to be more successful and that they're the better crime-fighters, while showing the New Kid no proof to back up either of these statements, which could have prompted the New Kid into believing that the Freedom Pals were just trying to be pretentious, and thus might've made the New Kid also think the Freedom Pals might not actually have even a moral superiority advantage. In other words; the New Kid may have suspected the Freedom Pals might be not so different from Coon and Friends.
25	** A fourth possible reason could be that considering that the Freedom Pals are implied to be better funded, more popular, and have extremely powerful members like Doctor Timothy and Mysterion, it's possible the New Kid felt that siding with them to take down Coon and Friends (especially after unlocking their time bending powers) would be [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction way too easy]]. And considering that the New Kid already has a history of being a [[FanOfUnderdog Fan of the Underdog]], it would make sense if they thought they'd enjoy helping Coon and Friends defeat their stronger rivals better than siding with said rivals.
26	* A RunningGag in the game involves Cartman's lack of knowledge about how reproduction works. He is also the only main character without a father figure in his life.
27	* Once again, the game lampoons the [[HeroicMime silent protagonist,]] however this game provides something of a justification. It’s explained in their backstory (their ''real'' backstory) that [[spoiler: the New Kid’s family moved a lot while on the run from the government. And while people would break into their home to get a selfie with the New Kid, they likely never had the chance to make friends with real people, much less with kids their own age, and [[NoSocialSkills interacting in real life is a new experience.]]]]
28	* Wendy as Call Girl outright asks a cisgendered female New Kid why she lets everyone think she’s a boy. Besides [[spoiler: Chris and Kelly trying to keep her identity secret,]] it's possible the New Kid also realizes the biggest reason she got to take part in the Stick of Truth and Coon Friends/Freedom Pals games is because everyone thinks she’s a boy [[GirlsHaveCooties and they wouldn‘t let her play with them if they realized that wasnt the case.]]
29	* At the start of the second Alternate Human Kite battle, he states the props he's positioned behind are the Red Sea, which you cannot cross without Moses. It sounds like just more of Other Kyle's cheating, and failing, because you're not playing along with his bullshit anymore. Except at this point you've likely already gained Moses as an ally, so the props being destructible is actually playing according to Other Kyle's rules, and him being unaware they won't save him.
30	* There is evidence that Call Girl is an actual vigilante fighter and not just playing the game.
31	** She has two Coonstagram accounts, one for her civilian identity as Wendy, and one for Call Girl. This means she has a need to protect her secret identity.
32	** During her sidequest, the D-Mobile store employees call out for help from Call Girl, meaning she has gained enough of a reputation that the phone store employees look to her for help.
33	** Her skills are the only ones grounded directly in reality, with her [[HollywoodHacking phone hacking skills]]. Even her ultimate simply relies on the strength in her number of followers.
34	** The Coon does not recognize Call Girl as one of the franchise members, which means she has become a superhero independent of whatever schemes Cartman originally came up with.
35	** She doesn't understand the rules of the game as well as the other heroes. (Using her during the Mecha Minion Supreme battle and getting hit by the Lava Piss attack will have her ask for confirmation that the Legos are supposed to burn)
36	* Why do the redneck assassins attack heterosexual and cisgender players and give the same 'beat straight' lines instead of something relevant? They don't know the difference between Cis and Trans. [[MortonsFork Non-Binary avoids using words that confuse them but causes them to consider you a gender terrorist.]]
37	** Heck, they don't even understand that Cis means staying biologically male or staying biologically female.
38	** And if you need proof, here's this: There's a chance that they say something along these lines:
39	-->'''Redneck:''' What's a "cisgender", anyway?\
40	'''Super Craig:''' YOU'RE cisgender, dick!\
41	'''Redneck:''' I ain't cisgender! I'm normal!
42	* During the fight with Morgan Freeman, Captain Diabetes is inexplicably immune to his Charm attack, despite having no immunity to it outside said fight. Then you realize that the power that Morgan Freeman uses the power of his freckles to charm people. Captain Diabetes also has freckles, so naturally it would have no effect on him.
43	** This is further proven if the New Kid has freckles equipped as a cosmetic item which grants them the same sort of immunity.
44	* Of all the things used to represent lava, why red [=LEGOs=]? Considering that "lava" is used to [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence seal off inaccessible areas]], and how notoriously painful stepping on [=LEGOs=] is...
45	* Tying into the possible reasons for Cartman's initial dickish behavior toward the New Kid in this game (see above), [[spoiler: One must wonder why Cartman, as Mitch Conner, never considered giving the New Kid a sincere offer to [[WeCouldRuleTogether take over South Park with him,]] especially considering how the only point he did so was to bait the New Kid into a trap. But there are some possible explanations to consider;]]
46	** [[spoiler: Assuming Mitch started his crime spree while the New Kid was busy with the Fighters of Zaron game, he may have assumed New Kid wouldn't be interested in being a career criminal if it meant breaking up the game they were already playing.]]
47	** [[spoiler: Even if the first explanation wouldn't have been an issue, Mitch might've figured that however loyal the New Kid was to Cartman, [[EveryoneHasStandards New Kid may have lines they won't cross even for Cartman]], a theory which is helped by the fact that during ''Stick of Truth'' Cartman technically never ordered New Kid to do anything that's outright malicious, which would give Mitch an indicator that any attempt to sway New Kid into deliberately being a bad guy would just lead to the New Kid being thrown off by the offer and have the New Kid respond with an immediate [[ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer and possibly violent]] refusal.]]
48	* Cartman and Kenny's sides being compared to Marvel and DC movies makes sense when you think about it: the Coon ''appears'' to be less dark, but is more likely to kill his enemies, not get involved in minor crimes like bank robbery or natural disasters, have merchandise made for him, and not have a secret identity. Mysterion, meanwhile, might appear darker on the ''surface'', but is undoubtedly the more principled of the two, and seen more as a symbol for truth and justice. Just like Marvel and DC movie heroes.
49	* The default key being F on the map menu for Fast Travel, and the giant F-shaped logo that appears as part of the "Fast Travel" title graphic, make the phrase appear to be "F Fast Travel." This may be playing off of how Jimmy sometimes pronounces the word "fast" as if it were "f-fast" due to his stutter.
50	* The character tiers make sense when you look at it from an IRL perspective. For the lower tier, Craig isn’t taking the game very seriously as reflected by his costume and thus hasn’t put much effort into his attacks. Jimmy is handicap so he’s going to have trouble physically keeping up, plus unlike Timmy his “powers” aren’t considered game breaking. Cartman is out of shape with only his metal claws being of any notable use. When it comes to the higher tier, Token used his money to put together a more effective costume. In a similar vein Stan is using actual power tools. Then you have Wendy and Kenny who are both trying to be legitimate superheroes outside of the game. Kenny has an actual superpower, and Wendy with her hacking skills.
51	* Wonder Tweek having powers of caffeine instead of fire seems like a random one of the four elements to replace, but it actually makes a little sense. Fire is actually the only one of the four not needed for coffee. Water is the base, earth is the coffee grounds and beans, and lightning is the electricity to power a coffee maker, which is how Tweek gets his coffee. Fire seems like it's needed, to heat up the coffee, but iced coffee and cold brews are both common variations.
52	* Cartman being scared to see the New Kid in their fighting costume alone with Cartman's mother makes sense when you think about how just yesterday the New Kid beat up Butters' father and Kyle's whole family.
53	* Why is Doctor Timothy working himself to death over his cinematic universe? Maybe because his original plans didn't factor in the New Kid.
54	** The New Kid and Call Girl both came into existence suddenly as superheroes, so Doctor Timothy had to try to last minute add two more characters into the series. Then there's the fact that Timothy claims Professor Chaos [[HeelFaceTurn switching sides]] is completely unprecedented, i.e. Timothy never wrote Chaos as anything but evil and now suddenly also has to write in something to suggest Chaos is either ChaoticNeutral instead of ChaoticEvil, or something along the lines of a FriendlyEnemy or a PunchClockVillain.
55	** Kyle going from a powerful ally in ''Stick of Truth'' to a mid-tier one makes sense when you see how as the Jew Elf King, Kyle is primarily a physical attacker while as The Human Kite, he's a support character whose only attacks involve shooting out lasers. Considering how hard he strikes (such as when he punches Cartman in different occasions) in the show proper, he's not as familiar using magical attacks over physical ones.
56
57	!FridgeHorror
58	* If you take a good look at the Coon's franchise plan, you'll see that Human Kite only gets name-checked in Phase 1. Given that Human Kite is actually Kyle, it wouldn't be beneath Cartman to ''kill him off'' at some point. Probably in his first movie.
59	* How corrupt is Sergeant Yates if he is willing to allow Jared Fogle out of his cell just to stop the heroes?
60	** Forget releasing Jared, [[MoralEventHorizon he uses his position as a police officer to deceive a child into helping him arrest innocent black people]] [[FateWorseThanDeath and sacrifices them to]] [[EldritchAbomination Shub-Niggurath.]]
61	*** What's even worse is that after the police station section is over, [[KarmaHoudini Yates and the rest of the force still have their jobs somehow,]] and all they say on the matter is that they "learned a lesson" and now arrest everybody equally. [[ParanoiaFuel Given that they liberally frame people to make their arrests, the implication is very chilling.]]
62	*** Since Sergeant Yates is willing to release Jared in order to stop the heroes, what other rapists would he have been willing to release in order to stop the superheroes?
63	* Tupperware might have to identify as gender-neutral because he lost his genitals during an accident that gave him superpowers...
64	* The amount of enemies that the New Kid gathers during ''The Fractured but Whole''. In ''The Stick of Truth'', the game ends at the status quo as many of the enemies were the result of the game the kids were playing. However, in ''The Fractured But Whole'', many of the enemies hate the New Kid outside of the game they're playing. These include [[spoiler:Sixth Graders and Raisins Girls (who all likely go to the same school as the New Kid), a group of intolerant GROWNUP Rednecks who have no problems attacking children, Crab People, and City Ninja assassins who are CONTRACTED TO MURDER A CHILD]]. If that's not bad enough, the New Kid likely can't go to the authorities for protection as [[spoiler:the cops likely resent the New Kid for foiling their cult]]. This is a lot for a child to have to go through. If this continues, the New Kid's parents might be forced to move again for their child's safety.
65	* The kids can make their powers real despite the fact that they are [=LARPing=], since people outside their LARP can be hurt or killed by their powers. What the hell is making their powers real!? Most of the enemies can't possibly be "playing around", because they are being visibly hurt and most of them aren't even participating in the kids' [=LARPing=]. Not to mention, most of the kids' powers are NOT props in ''The Fractured but Whole'', in contrast to ''The Stick of Truth'', further proving that their powers are real in-universe this time.
66	* Mitch Conner is a lot smarter than Cartman himself, despite having an eerily similar warped ideology to him. Not to mention, Kyle's Mitch is exactly like Cartman's Mitch. Meaning that somehow, Mitch became real in the ''South Park'' universe. Also, Mitch has also apparently gained the ability to BodySurf, since he can possess people other than Cartman too. Cartman's smart, but Mitch Conner is still smarter than Cartman. Cartman needed a lot of outside help for most of his plans. Most of Mitch Conner's plans have very little help aside from a few bad guys who just so happened to have their own separate conspiracies by sheer coincidence, almost like Mitch Conner is ComicBook/TheKingpin of South Park in terms of how smart he is. And Mitch Conner has his own thoughts, feelings and memories separate from Cartman, further implying that Mitch is a separate personality. Also, Mitch is far less bigoted than Cartman, further hinting that he is a separate entity from Cartman.
67	* After 20 years, we now know why South Park is home to so much craziness. [[spoiler:The town is built over the resting place of the [[EldritchAbomination Outer God Shub-Niggurath.]]]]
68	* Cartman's RunningGag of treating parents fucking each other as a terrible event is generally PlayedForLaughs, but considering all of the sexual abuse he and his mom have gone through (and put others through, in the former's case), it's not impossible he thinks all sex is rape, and said "fucked" where he meant "raped".
69	** Which leads one to question why he would want to vilify New Kid's Dad by implying that New Kid's Dad is a rapist....
70	** His blood father abandoned him, his father figure died, and basically anything wrong with most of his friends comes from their fathers. He might hate dads in general. If he's aware of Chris and Kelly's struggles, it might remind him of his own relationship with Heidi, which hasn't been doing too well lately, and one scene implied that he may be aware of him being the reason why and blaming Chris for it.
71	** And how was Cartman even aware of those events to begin with?
72	** Not to mention, since time travel has always been a thing in the South Park Universe, there might be an alternate timeline where Chris actually IS a rapist.
73	* Considering that Professor Chaos is a Dr. Doom Expy, that implies that there might be Expies of other Marvel Villains in the South Park Universe. And there's always a chance that said Expies would be far more competent than Professor Chaos.
74	* In the Casa Bonita DLC, while Mysterion freaking out over Karen joining the Vamp Kids is blown out of proportion (and the whole plot is meant to be one big joke with a lot of little jokes sprinkled on top), consider this; Karen's the youngest child of one of the poorest families in South Park (and given her usual appearance it's likely anyone that knows of her knows at least that little factoid), and to combine that with seeing her hanging with a group like the Vamp Kids, whom most of the kids in South Park regard with contempt, annoyance, and mockery, might make Karen come across as someone hopelessly desperate to fit in somewhere and find some quality of life improvements however marginal. With those factors in mind, there's a chance Karen might find herself suffering a considerable amount of bullying and ridicule if she stayed with the Vamp Kids. If Mysterion chose to intervene with those fears in mind, then suddenly his decision to pull her away from the Vamp Kids would be a lot more understandable.
75	** Also, the Vamp Kids have actual vampire powers in the Casa Bonita DLC. Coupling this with the fact that the kids somehow made their powers real in-universe as pointed out on previous FridgeHorror points in this Fridge page, one wonders what exactly is making their powers come true.... also, it leads to question how many people in the South Park Universe are capable of finding a way to make imaginary powers real.
76	** Not to mention how quickly Karen [[spoiler:falls into the Goth Kids clique at the end]]. Seems to be setting her up for somebody who is very easy to influence, and presumably manipulate, due to her lack of a good support system outside of her brother and desperate desire for companionship.
77	* TheStinger with Professor Chaos trying to convince the [[WorldsBestWarrior The New Kid]] to become a villain is a terrifying concept in its own right. Consider; If the New Kid ever decided to become genuinely evil, especially while using all the abilities and skills they've learned throughout both games, there's a very good chance that whatever New Kid ends up doing, ''no one would be able to stop them!''
78	** Then again the person trying to recruit them is well… Butters, worst case scenario The New Kid only becomes as evil as Professor Chaos which isn’t very evil at all.
79	*** Well Professor Chaos ''is'' evil, he's just incompetent. His plan to flood the entire Earth? Very evil and could permanently ruin the world. The only reason it fails is because Butters doesn't have the money, time, or abilities to pull it off.
80	* On nights 1 and 2, the New Kid's parents are terrified of being discovered, and refuse to go outside while trying to keep the house securely locked up at night to prevent anyone getting in. Around night 2 and day 3, it's uncovered that all drugs and alcohol are being contaminated with cat urine, which makes the inhaler terminally stupid. The New Kid's mother drinks wine profusely, while their father eats pot brownies. That night, they go outside and party, and are gone the next morning, having been kidnapped. Kind of sad that after trying to stay hidden for so long, a bunch of urine-contamination was all it took for them to go outside and be kidnapped.

Context Fridge / SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole