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TonyFace

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

Tony, also known as The Tiger, is a playable protagonist in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. He is a member of The Fans, and is the second playable Fan that is unlocked upon completion of the level Down Under after Corey.

Featuring a bloody tiger mask, Tony wears a black t-shirt with tan body armor, knee pads, gray combat pants, and cowboy boots with spurs. His hands sport black gloves and spiked knuckles.

Events in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number[]

1985[]

Tony was a US soldier stationed in the volcanic region of Hawaii during the Soviet-American War with the rest of the Fans (Corey, Alex Davis, Ash Davis, and Mark). On March 17th, he stands at a military tiki bar drinking beer nearby the Fans while his commander is interviewed outside by the journalist Evan.

Late October, November 1991[]

On October 31st, Tony is first seen at the Fans' Halloween party. He sits drinking beer between Ash and Corey on the couch's exposed springs having removed the cushion. He and Ash share that they despise the party and the guests, leading to Mark's suggestion that the Fans go for a ride. Tony agrees, saying that he is "sick of this shit."

On November 11th, Tony appears in the Hank's bar easter egg, clutching his head after appearing to have drunk several beers while sitting next to Corey and Mark at a table cluttered with bottles.

On November 22nd or soon after, the Fans are directed to the Henchman's location by Andy, one of Ash's acquaintances. After completing the level, Corey, the Swans, and Mark begin beating the overdosed Henchman who pleas for them to stop. Tony is the only Fan who does not participate in the Henchman's execution by only watching, which may be because he wants more action rather than killing someone incapacitated, or that he was holding off to allow the others enjoy the brutality.

Early December 1991[]

On December 2nd, Tony drinks beer at the end of the couch in his first and only instance of sitting on a cushion, possibly in response to the Henchman's murder or Mark's new shipment of guns. He appears interested that they are "going somewhere special tonight," but after hearing the details of Ash's suggestion from his friend Jack to retrieve his missing sister, Tony criticizes Ash for giving them another "house call" and the apparent heroism of the mission, saying "I didn't sign up to be no hero, rescuing women and shit... that's not my thing. I just want some action." After Alex insists on taking the job, Tony gives in, claiming it isn't his problem if something happens to the girl.

Notably, Moving Up is Tony's first available mission (though the VHS art depicts the shadows of the Swans). The first two floors are fairly straightforward for both Alex and Tony, while the top floor features several blind runs with armed enemies. The mission culminates with Jack's terrified sister threatening the Fan at gunpoint to leave without her after witnessing the Fan massacre her "friends". This possibly foreshadows Tony's confrontation with Manny Pardo in the epilogue of Death Wish.

Afterwards, the van breaks down while driving away from the scene. Tony pressures Ash to make his repairs quicker from the driver's seat, who is anxious that the cops will stumble upon the Fans in their bloodied states. Ash snaps that Tony should have taken the van for service, while Tony retorts that the van isn't his responsibility. Exasperated, Tony agrees to take the van the following morning if Ash can get the vehicle operating.

On December 9th, Tony appears to be immersed in several blueprints along with Corey and Alex. Mark mentions that they were "famous" as the news publicized their exploits on December 2nd the previous night. Corey dryly says that the Fans got their "five minutes of fame," while Tony replies that it was "more like two." Thrilled by their publicity, Alex wonders if she could call the news station for a copy, to which Tony sarcastically remarks, "Why don't you call the police and turn yourself in while you're at it?" Mark agrees with Tony, but is positive about being featured in the news again. Tony and Corey concur that they would need to kill more people first.

Alex suggests venturing to a storage shed nearby several "creeps" from whom she purchased marijuana from on 168th street. Tony scolds her for wanting the Fans to "treasure hunt" for more drugs. Nonetheless, the Fans head to the location given their lack of options. If the player chooses to play with Corey, the Swans, or Mark, after completing the first area Tony will have checked the back-room to the sewers and found nothing. If the player chooses to play with Tony, Mark will have checked the back-room and found nothing. This could indicate that Tony is disturbed by the Pit.

Late December, 1991[]

On December 20th, Tony, Corey, and Alex sense they are about to make a dire mistake as suggested by the dream sequence where Mark brings in several Richard masks. After Corey wears her mask, Tony carefully examines his before donning it, foreshadowing that he clears the third floor after Mark and Corey (which may also highlight that his caution allowed him to survive his encounter with the Son). After Corey's dream dialogue, Tony says "All clear on my end, I think. Wait... what was that? I think I just heard something!", which parallels the Fan's line just before entering the Pit.

Ash receives a phone call disrupting the dream sequence, cueing Tony's question as to how he acquired the phone (which could be due to Tony's lack of participation in the Henchman's execution). Ash then quietly listens to the Son (who is unaware of his Henchman's death) relish in the Russian Mafia's recent success and invites him to the mob's location on 20th street. Ash eagerly tells the Fans to follow him to the van for their new adventure.

Corey delays the mission for two hours by surveilling the area. Afterwards, Ash attempts to bypass the door's security system while Corey hurries him, being concerned that they may be interrupted by outgoing mobsters. Ash and Corey argue about her lengthy stakeout before Tony says, "Just fucking open this thing, will ya?" Annoyed, Ash taunts Tony to try bypassing the security himself, prompting the latter to balk. The doors open, and after the Swans rush in and Corey urges Tony and Mark to stay in contact through the walkie talkies, Mark expresses his concern to Tony about the Fans' plan to jump across buildings once they finish. Tony assures Mark the distance isn't significant, although he jokes that Mark may be the only one to have trouble as a "big guy."

After finishing the third floor following Mark and Corey's, Tony repeats the same line from the dream sequence over the walkie talkies in saying, "All clear on my end, I think. Wait... what was that? I think I just heard something!" According to the Son's hallucinations in Apocalypse, the Son killed Mark and Corey before encountering Tony. He shoots at Tony, who charges at him several times and is glanced by shotgun pellets. Tony survives while the Son continues to the rooftop where he kills the Swans. Eventually, Tony is confronted by Detective Pardo in a room surrounded by SWAT where he is held up with the corpses of Mark and Corey. Tony is seen cradling Corey's head with his right hand as Pardo enters the room alone. Tony rises with his hands up, telling Pardo, "Don't shoot. I give up. I'm through with this. Just arrest me and get this over with, OK? I'm done fighting. ..." Pardo replies that Tony and the Fans are just another group of masked vigilantes that wanted their "fifteen minutes of fame". He asks if Tony knows "what happens to thugs like you?" before shooting him in the head. When the SWAT chief asks what happened in the room, Pardo declared that he didn't have a choice in killing Tony as "it was him or me".

In the Table Sequence, Tony sits at a table with Richard, Richter, Martin Brown, Jake, and the Fans, along with the Son and the Henchman. Tony is seated between Corey and Ash, with his right arm placed on his leg and left arm on the armrest. After Tony replies to Richard by saying, "I think I've heard enough. [...] Hey guys, let's get out of here," the scene changes to each of the Fans being replaced by their corpses reflecting their demise, with Tony sitting with a gunshot wound in the head. Tony is the only Fan who has dialogue in this scene.

Playstyle[]

Tony's punches are lethal, but he cannot pick up any weapons at any point in the level, unlike the Tony Mask in the first game that included lethal punches. Similar to The Son's technique Dirty Hands, Tony is able to kill larger enemies (Thugs) by first knocking them onto the floor before performing a ground execution with a fatal knee to the face. He is also able to perform ground executions on Dogs, which involves catching them mid-lunge before pinning them to the floor to punch them in the head. With standard enemies that are knocked over by doors, Tony mounts them to punch them in the face twice.

Tactics[]

Similar to Biker, Tony's lack of range occasionally requires him to use luring tactics (spooking/peekaboo/cornering). Players should peek through corners and choke-points to draw enemies into Tony's punching range. The order of drawing enemies is important, as Thugs and lunging Dogs yield an elongated execution animation that leaves Tony vulnerable to other attacks in this frame. Attacking charging Dogs diagonally can reduce the likelihood of the elongated animation. Combos may be built by charging enemies that are in clusters or lines - however, enemy fire can pass through them and hit Tony.

List of killed victims[]

This is a compiled list of how many kills Tony has performed in the series. Kills in Bold are unclear and up to interpretation. This assumes Tony is chosen for all the Fans' levels:

Overall, Tony has killed 139 enemies (140 if you count Blue Lips).

Trivia[]

  • Tony's cowboy boots were inspired by the character Llewellyn Moss from the film No Country For Old Men.
  • According to the concept art, Tony is "The leader!". It also reveals that Tony lied that his mask used to be Jacket's tiger mask.
  • Tony is unemployed, has no technical skills, and is just "in it for the action", a likely jab at the players who choose him.
    • He appears to be the only one among the Fans that is explicitly there for only the violence. Although Alex is similar, she uses their missions to score drugs.
  • Tony is the only playable character in the series that the player never takes control of outside of a mission.
  • He is depicted as completely bald in his overhead sprites, but his facial sprites depict him with a buzzcut.
  • Tony and Corey may have a closer relationship among the Fans (excluding Alex and Ash's sibling relationship). In almost all instances, Tony and Corey are positioned next to each other: at the Halloween party where they are first introduced, in the Bar of Broken Heroes during Evan's meeting with Biker, in the intro of Death Wish, and in the Table Sequence. Furthermore, Tony holds Corey's head in the epilogue of Death Wish.
  • In the same epilogue, Tony's death mirrors the Henchman's demise in Execution in several ways. Tony was the only Fan who was not directly involved in killing the Henchman, just as The Son did not kill Tony. The two also had their dead allies nearby, as the Henchman was surrounded by Russian mobsters while Tony was with Corey and Mark's bodies. Both of them also wanted to leave/surrender before their deaths, as the Henchman asked The Fans to call Mary to take him home and Tony asked Manny Pardo to arrest him. They both die by their aggressors.
  • If you play as Tony in Into the Pit, Mark will be the one to tell you he already checked the sewers and found nothing. Otherwise, Tony will be the one who checked the sewers and found nothing.
  • Tony may be a reference to the character Tony The Tiger, the mascot for the Kellogg's cereal Frosted Flakes.
  • According to a conversation between Ash and Tony regarding their van, Tony is the only one of the Fans who is unemployed.
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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