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AshFace

Ash's unmasked facial sprite, as seen in the Level Editor.

Ash Davis, also known as Swan #2, is a playable protaganist in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. He is a member of The Fans, and is part of an inseparable duo known as the Swans with his twin sister Alex Davis, making them the third playable Fans. They are unlocked following Corey and Tony for the scene Execution.

Donning a #2 swan mask, Ash wears green football padding as body armor, dark green pants, orange shoulder pads, and orange fingerless gloves.

 Events of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number[]

1985[]

Ash was a US soldier stationed in Hawaii during the Soviet-American War with his sister and the other Fans (Corey, Tony, and Mark). On March 17th, while their commander is interviewed outside by the journalist Evan Wright, Ash tinkers with a radio by the bar next to Alex, who smokes a cigarette. Tony drinks beer on the opposite end of the bar while Corey and Mark are separated from the Swans by a cash register.

Late October, November 1991[]

On October 31st, Ash is first seen inspecting a double-barreled shotgun at Fans' Halloween party seated on the couch between Mark and Tony. Tony and Ash are displeased with the party, asking who invited "all these morons" (the "morons" being the self-inserts of several Hotline Miami 2 soundtrack artists). Corey stays silent, prompting Mark to ask if they are going to "do it" tonight, much to Ash's excitement. Alex starts the van, and the fans drive to a mafia-controlled electronics workshop and massacre the members.

On November 5th, Ash and Alex protest with signs outside of Jacket's trial, suggesting that the siblings are the most invested in freeing Jacket and may be the most politically active among the Fans. Ash steadies his sign with both hands unlike Alex, who uses one.

On November 11th, Ash appears in the Hank's bar easter egg sitting with the Fans at a table cluttered with bottles. He is unusually hard-drinking in this scene, and Alex holds his right shoulder from behind.

On November 22nd or soon after, Ash mentions that his acquaintance Andy told him about a Russian Henchman's location, who had spared the latter's life after slaughtering his co-workers in the chop shop. After the Fans clear the floor, Ash, Alex, Corey, and Mark surround the intoxicated Henchman sitting alone. Ash drags the Henchman onto to the floor, and Corey strikes him in the head, possibly meaning to kill him in one blow. The Henchman continues rambling, and Ash watches as Alex, Corey, and Mark continue beating him to death. He also takes the Henchman's cell phone that he had angrily thrown on the floor earlier.

December 1991[]

On December 2nd, Ash sits next to Mark on the couch across from Tony informing the Fans about Jack's request to bring home his sister from a "real shithole" filled with "junkies and lowlifes" and teach them a lesson. Mark humorously remarks that the "shithole" is "kinda like this place," to which Ash replies, "Fuck you, Mark." Disappointed, Tony criticizes Ash for giving the Fans another "house call". Ash replies that no one complained before, considering that the current mission is similar to their last job (in Execution). He further insists they cannot simply patrol the streets for "scumbags", which would quickly lead to them being apprehended. Tony continues complaining about the heroics of these missions, prompting Alex to shout that she "sure as hell ain't staying". Corey starts the van, and the Fans clear the building but are unable to bring back Jack's terrified sister, who threatens the Fan to leave her alone after watching them murder her "friends".

While driving away from the scene, the van breaks down. Tony rushes Ash to repair the engine quicker, who retorts it "ain't gonna go faster with you bitching" and that Ash has been telling Tony for several weeks to take the van for repairs. Insisting that the van is not his responsibility (implying that it is Ash's vehicle), Ash comments that Tony is the only one among the Fans who doesn't have a job, and tells him to take it by Andy at the chop shop again as he owes him a favor. Tony agrees to go the following morning, and Ash successfully manages to revive the engine.

On December 9th, Ash is examining the van's components following the previous week's breakdown, while the other Fans are inside their hideout around blueprints placed on a circular table spray painted with the 50 Blessings' symbol. By the time they decide to visit the storage shed proposed by Alex, Ash nowhere to be seen, presumably inside in the van already as Mark starts the vehicle. The Fans are dissatisfied with the first area, but discover an unnerving underground hideout filled with mobsters and dead victims in the sewers.

On December 10th, Detective Pardo visits Ash's most recent address and knocks on Alex's door. Pardo still enters after Alex tells him to wait to discreetly hide her Swan outfit, and he uses the opportunity to plant Jack's wallet in the apartment. Displeased to find Pardo in the kitchen, Alex tells him that Ash no longer lives there. Pardo asks Alex to have Ash contact the Miami Police Department, and after gawkily complimenting her looks, Pardo leaves.

On December 20th, Ash charged the Henchman's cell phone at his friend Dean's residence (where he was likely staying) before going to the Fans' hideout. The intro begins with a dream sequence foreshadowing the events of Death Wish where Mark brings in a box of Richard masks, insinuating that Corey, Tony, and Alex sense they are about to make a crucial mistake. Ash is seated alone on the couch during the sequence wearing his Swan mask, while Alex is the last Fan to don the Richard mask and says into the walkie talkie, "Alright, we're on the roof now! How are things going for you, guys? [...] Hello? [...] Is anyone there? [...] Guys?[...]" A phone rings, disrupting the dream sequence, and Alex discovers none of the Fans' phones are ringing. Ash realizes it is his cell, and informs Tony that he took it from the Henchman when they killed him. Ash asks Corey if he should answer, who comments that he might as well. Unaware that his Henchman was killed, Ash listens to the Son boast about the Russian mob's success and the location of the new headquarters. Excited, Ash tells the Fans that he "just found something for them to do tonight" and will tell them the details on the way. The player takes control of Ash to start the van.

At the headquarters, Ash attempts to bypass the security doors, while Corey hurries him to avoid confronting any outgoing mobsters. Ash and Corey argue after he complains that she wasted the most time by staking out the area for two hours, and Tony interjects for Ash to "just open this fucking thing". Mockingly, Ash tells Tony to try to bypass the doors himself as he is sure that Tony would "get it open in no time". Ash opens the door, and the Swans charge in ahead of the Fans. Their floor is the most populated in Death wish and contains the most electronics. After clearing the floor, they head to the rooftop as planned to jump to the next building. Ash radios the Fans, repeating Alex's line from earlier in the dream sequence, "Alright, we're on the roof now! How are things going for you, guys? [...] Hello? [...] Is anyone there? Guys? [...]" Alex wonders if they should check on the other Fans, and Ash replies that perhaps they should when The Son emerges on to the roof. As they turn to face him, Ash is immediately shot to death by the Son. Shouting Ash's name, Alex faces the hysterical Son and yells, "What the fuck are you waiting fo-" and is fatally shot by the Son.

In Apocalypse, the Swans are the fourth and final boss on the rooftop for the Son after he defeats Mark, Corey, and Tony (who survived). In his hallucinogenic state, the Son perceives the twins as as two swans colliding to form a two-headed swan monster that attacks him, even though he immediately shot Ash and Alex upon encountering them.

In The Table Sequence, Ash and the Fans are seated at a table with Richard, Richter, Jake, Evan, the Son, the Henchman, and Beard. He sits the closest to the table among the fans, resting an Uzi sideways and pointed at the Son with his left hand on the table. Alex stands clutching his chair from behind with her left hand. After Tony replies to Richard, "I think I've heard enough. [...] Hey guys, let's get out of here," the scene flashes with each of the Fans being replaced by their corpses, depicting Ash's body with a gunshot wound. Like the other Fans, Ash has no dialogue during this scene (except for Tony).

Playstyle[]

With "Chainsaw & Guns", Ash and Alex are the only playable duo in the game series. Ash exclusively deals ranged attacks while walking several steps behind Alex, who exclusively deals melee attacks with her chainsaw. Both characters' move in tandem facing the same direction and cannot be separated from each other at any point in the level.

Ash begins each level with a pistol and automatically picks up any weapon that he walks over once his ammo is depleted. Alex never changes her weapon at any point in a level. On a PC, Ash's attacks are controlled with the right mouse button while Alex's attacks are controlled with the left mouse.

Ash can kill larger enemies (Thugs) with firearms, while Alex can also kill Thugs with her melee weapon like Tony. However, Alex and Ash's movement is slower compared to Tony. Counterbalancing this, Ash fires semi-automatic and pump-action weapons faster than other characters.

When playing as the Swans, Alex will be the only one to die even if both of them are fatally hit, requiring the player to restart the floor. Once Alex is killed, Ash surrenders by putting his hands up, and will be ignored by enemies.

List of killed victims[]

This is a compiled list of how many kills Ash has performed in the series. Kills in Bold are unclear and merely up to interpretation. This assumes Alex and Ash are used on all Fan levels:

Overall, Ash has killed 142 enemies (143 if you count Blue Lips). All of Ash's kills are shared with Alex.

 Trivia[]

  • Ash is the primary source of jobs for the group, as the Fans complete missions proposed by him in Execution, Moving Up, and Death Wish (3/5 total).
    CongaArms

    Arm comparison of Alex, Tony, and Ash (left to right).

  • Ash has the smallest arms of any male character in the series, being three pixels across instead of the standard four.
    • On the other hand, his sister's arms are the largest of any female character in the game series, being equivalent to Tony's.
  • Ash and Alex's orange and green apparel may be a reference to the orange and green facial/phone sprite void in the original game, as they have the most connections and and propose all of the jobs for the Fans (except in Down Under).
  • Ash's know-it-all temperament and mocking attitude as a "techie shut-in" may be a jab at the players.
  • Ash is possibly a reference to Ash from the 1979 horror movie Alien, who shares a similar temperament and breadth of technical knowledge - Ash is the only one with access to "Mother" (the computer containing ship's mission information), similar to how Ash suggests the most jobs for the Fans who rely on him for for technical and mechanical support. He may also be a reference to Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise, who uses a chainsaw and double barrel shotgun.
  • Ash is the only character that views the Fans' actions as heroic.
  • He is the only playable character in Hotline Miami to be completely incapable of using melee weapons.
  • In the intro for First Trial, Ash and Alex protest at Jacket's trial next to a small blonde girl - it is unknown if she is a relative or acquaintance, or someone entirely unrelated to them.
  • Ash's character design was originally intended to unlock guns instead of picking them up during a level once his pistol and the following firearms used are depleted.
  • In Dead Ahead, the desk closer to the door in Alex's bedroom may have belonged to Alex. It appears to have a speaker system, floppy drives, an open book, and several notes. Notably, this desk is tidier and cleaner and is missing a chair.
  • In the digital comics, Ash and Alex are distinguishable by the number on their shoulders, while in the game they are distinguishable by the number on their masks.
Playable Characters in the Hotline Miami Series
Hotline Miami

Jacket · Biker

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

Martin Brown · Corey · Tony · Alex · Ash · Mark · Manny Pardo · Jake · Evan Wright · The Henchman · Beard · Richter · The Son · Jacket (Editor only) · Biker (Editor only) · H.M. Hammarin (Editor only)

Enemies in Hotline Miami
Normal Enemies Russian Mobster · Policeman · Phone Hom Worker · Teenager · Gang Member · Soviet Soldier · Colombian Mobster · Security Guard · Prisoner · Hallucinatory Demon
Special Enemies Dog · Thug · Waiter · SWAT · Doctor · Inspector · Dodger
Bosses Producer · Biker · Van Driver · Police Chief · Panther · The Bodyguard · The Father · Jacket · SWAT Chief · Gang Leader · Prison Boss · Mark · Corey · Tony · Alex · Ash
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