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Zepheniah Mann and Company
From left to right: Barnabas Hale, Blutarch Mann, Zepheniah Mann, Mann's maidservant Elizabeth and Redmond Mann. A mysterious man is also seen just out of shot on the far right side.
Zepheniah Mann was a wealthy Englishman who was convinced by his dimwitted sons, Blutarch and Redmond, to purchase large areas of land in frontier America. He dreamed of turning the land into large pits of gravel for weapons manufacturing. On his journey over to see his newly purchased land, he was struck with almost every illness known to man, and was shocked to find his new land was an empty and useless desert. Eventually, he left a Last Will and Testament on his own skin which had sloughed off his body due to illness:
To his maidservant Elizabeth he left his estate, including all deeds, accounts and debts, his tobacco plantation and the remains of his fortune. Elizabeth bears a striking resemblance to The Announcer.
To his aide and tracker Barnabas Hale (ancestor of Saxton Hale) he left complete control of Mann & Sons Munitions Concern.
To his "brain defective" sons, Blutarch & Redmond, he left a partnership. All of the new land they had convinced him to buy was now to be split evenly between them, so they would now have a reason to bicker endlessly.
The final entry of his will is hidden, reading only as: "Lastly to... I leave the entirety of my.... and swear you to utmost secrecy in it's keeping." The figure to whom it is directed is mysteriously obscured from the family portrait.
His will also leaves a curse to anyone who should use firearms near his grave, stating that he will deliver a haunting unlike any ever seen.
True to his word, the ghost of Zepheniah will appear periodically on the event version of Harvest where he is buried, wearing his Ghastly gibus hat. Any players who stray too close will flee in fear for several seconds, unable to jump or attack.
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Zepheniah Mann's Family Portrait...
From left to right: Barnabas Hale, Blutarch Mann, Zepheniah Mann, Mann's maidservant Elizabeth and Redmond Mann. A mysterious man is also seen just out of shot on the far right side.
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Saxton Hale
Saxton Hale is the rugged Australian CEO of Mann Co., star of the Saxton Hale's Thrilling Tales comic series and an all-around man among men whose favorite pastimes include fighting, drinking and battling with rare and ferocious animals. Identifying features include his exceptional moustache, trademark shirtlessness, rippling muscles, crocodile-tooth lined hat and a patch of chest hair shaped like Australia.
Saxton is the latest Hale to take up the reins of Mann Co. since Zepheniah Mann left its ownership to loyal aide and tracker Barnabus Hale in his last will and testament. His boisterous presence is felt in all areas of the company, from the slogan ("We sell products and get in fights") to the customer forms, which include tickboxes for informing product-thieving rivals that he is coming to pummel them to death with his bare hands. His inspiring image also features on numerous Mann Co. catalogs and promotional materials. He is known (and feared) for his belief in handling customer service issues personally, with his official policy being: "If you aren't 100% satisfied with our product line, you can take it up with me!".
Notable achievements of Saxton Hale include:
Cutting his way out of primate hell.
Teaching his girl scout troupe, the 'Saxtonettes', a fire safety tip: grizzly bears burn.
Fighting off a lion while simultaneously having his hair cut.
Single handedly wiping out the Indonesian berzerker shark (and making it cry).
Retrieving a stolen puck from a thieving tortoise, despite its thirty minute head start.
Inventing the ancient and mystical Jarate fighting style after kicking a chair across the room in a frustrated rage. His complete Jarate course includes Saxton Hale Jarate Pills, which triple the size of your kidneys, and Saxton Hale Pain Tonic, which completely masks the feeling of your internal organs shutting down.
Becoming the wealthiest man in the western hemisphere.
Firebombing Woodstock from a helicopter.
Saxton Hale's Thrilling Tales
Saxton Hale's Thrilling Tales first arrived on newsstands in 1961 as part of a bold Mann Co. initiative to sidestep an increase on postage costs for their weapons catalogs. The first 64 page issue contained four pages of thrilling tales and 60 pages of ads for exciting new Mann Co. products. But Thrilling's editors quickly discovered that showing Mann Co. founder Saxton Hale using a product in the story itself tripled its sales. Ads were cut to 32 pages to accommodate longer, product placement-based stories.
Saxton Hale's Barbershop Action
Saxton Hale's Barbershop Action capitalized on the brief "haircut" fad of the early 60s. Its breakaway success would lead to the ancillary titles Saxton Hale's Barbershop Romance and Haircut Horrors Starring Saxton Hale's Ghost. By Issue #40, however, the peacenik movement had gripped America in its filthy, tangled mane, and haircut fiction saw a steep decline. This would be the start of a longtime feud between Hale and hippies, which would culminate in his firebombing Woodstock from a helicopter.
Saxton Hale's Jungle Brawl
?
Saxton Hale's Jungle Brawl debuted in the U.S. in 1962, riding a wave of anti-gorilla sentiment following Russia's successful launch of the first monkey, Vladimir Bananas, into space. America's rage was not isolated to communist primates- that same year, monkeynaut Poopy Joe cruelly dashed the U.S.'s hopes of reaching the stars when its shuttle detonated on takeoff. Brawl was notorious for inflaming human-gorilla tensions during its ten-year run, most famously in issue #50, which was printed with gorillas' blood. Its print run of 17 million copies left only five gorillas on the planet.
Saxton Hale's Mildly Thrilling Tales
As the youth movement of the 1960s escalated, manufacturers produced fewer and fewer products for the elderly. By 1963, only four items remained: hats, meat, caskets, and Saxton Hale's Mildly Thrilling Tales. Naked from the forehead down, lying in their coffins gumming Salisbury steak, an entire generation of despondent, forgotten consumers was left with just one thing on which to spend their government checks: Hale's tepid, senior-friendly tales of modest suspense. Saxton Hale Visits His Mother Monthly and Soothing Stories of Familiar Things soon followed. Hale quickly became the wealthiest man in the western hemisphere.
Girl's Adventure Starring Saxton Hale
Boy's Adventure with Saxton Hale came under fire from the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in 1968 for teaching boys aged 6-16, among other things: moral turpitude, arson, vandalism, hippie assault, tax fraud, at-home laryngectomies, car theft, gorilla slaughter, and the Heimlich Maneuver (which had just been invented and was still considered controversial). Pressured by the Senate, Mann Co. changed the name to Girl's Adventure With Saxton Hale, as it was commonly thought at the time that girls couldn't do anything, so any lessons taught to them would be harmless.
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The BLU Scout's Mother
? Meet the Spy ?
The Scout's Mother is briefly mentioned and shown in Meet the Spy. She raised the Scout and his seven "mad-dog" brothers in South Boston and somehow, still managed to keep her figure. She is in a romantic relationship with the RED Spy who lovingly calls her 'ma petite chou-fleur' (French, lit. 'My little cauliflower', although a more accurate English translation would be 'My sweetheart'). The BLU Scout was apparently shocked to learn of this relationship, though his actual feelings on the matter are unknown as he was in fact the RED Spy disguised as the BLU Scout at the time. The Scout's Mom wears a classic late 60's style dress and hairstyle. In her photo appearance, she wears only blue clothing, so it could be assumed that the RED Scout's mother probably wears red in theme with her son's team color as well. Seven compromising photos of her and the RED Spy are kept in a top secret file labelled 'Scout's Mom' in the BLU base. She is notably the only female character yet to be modeled, assuming the Pyro is a man. The Spy had a likeness of her engraved on the barrel of the Ambassador.
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The Sniper's Parents
The Sniper's parents were first mentioned in Meet the Sniper. The Sniper, being a dutiful son, makes sure to keep in touch with his parents via phone or mail to inquire about their well-being and keep them up to date with his latest adventures and exploits. Living in the Red House on the Left on Adelaide St. in Australia, the Sniper's mom and dad provide sympathy and contempt respectively. The Sniper's dad openly disagrees with his son on his choice of occupation, claiming his son is a "crazed gunman" while the Sniper insists he is an "Assassin" and that he makes more money than a doctor. The Sniper ultimately asked his mom to tell his dad that he is a doctor now.
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The TF Announcer
The Announcer.
The TF Announcer, The Administrator or simply The Announcer is the source of the mysterious disembodied voice that announces vital events during the match. Another function of her job is to angrily berate the team upon failure and congratulate them upon victory. This disappointed and slightly angry evil overlord clearly lets you know in the world of Team Fortress, a tie does not mean everyone wins, but that everyone loses.
There is precious little information regarding the TF Announcer beyond her icy and authoritative demeanor and tendency to become somewhat 'unstable' under extreme pressure. It is known that she has a liking for cigarettes and Punishment Monthly magazine. In Meet the Spy, the Announcer was shown to communicate with the BLU team through an Alarm-a-Tron 5000 speaker system connected to a board with a myriad of signs that illuminate in various situations (e.g. RED Spy - In Base). It has been revealed that she instead speaks through a similar system with hundreds of giant monitors on top and next to each other.
The Announcer is the same person on both teams, and only wishes to see everyone killed whenever she can. By doing this she has a single mic with several cords which she plugs in and out on different teams to say different things.
The Announcer wears a purple suit and hot pink pantyhose, and she painted her fingernails hot pink and wears purple makeup as well. She has black hair pulled upwards. She also has green eyes. This rendition of the Announcer was based from an fan-art made by Makani.
Trivia
She is voiced by Ellen McLain, who also played the voice of GLaDOS in Portal and the Overwatch in Half-Life 2.
She posts entries on the TF2 Official Blog; usually the ones that involve tongue-lashing the community for untoward behavior.
When King of the Hill mode was first released, the Announcer would repeatedly remind all players that it was "Overtime. Overtime! Overtime..." This was fixed by Valve on August 15th, 2009 bug fix, but remained an option for server admins due to popular reception by the TF2 community.
The Announcer's appearance has a storied past. It started with a fan rendition by the artist Makani, which spread around the Internet, proving to be rather popular. Shortly thereafter the artist was invited to Valve for a visit, the events of which are mostly ambiguous. Many months later, during the promo for the Hallowe'en Special, a woman with a near-identical face could be seen standing next to Zepheniah Mann on his deathbed. Finally, on December 9th, 2009, the Announcer's face was ultimately revealed, using Makani's design, albeit with slightly different wear as described above.
The Announcer has an intern by the name of Miss Pauling.
The Announcer's look (purple, pink and green) are all meant to show that she is the same person directing both teams, as blue mixed with red is purple.
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Miss Pauling
Miss Pauling is the loyal intern of The TF Announcer. She organizes everything for The Announcer, such as game updates. She has a green suit, beige pants, grey high heels, thick glasses and a hair style similar to that of the Announcer's, but lower and rolled up in the backwards.
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