The classic 1990s video game franchise, Twisted Metal, has been adapted into a television series that is ten 30-minute episodes.  Season 1 is currently airing all ten episodes on Peacock, but the meat and potatoes of this series are identifying all of the characters you know and love from the classic video games.  So, let’s dive in and see which characters made appearances from the video games on the small screen!

15. John Doe

 

The John Doe (played by Anthony Mackie) featured in Peacock’s Twisted Metal might share the same name as the character from Twisted Metal: Black and they might both be amnesiacs, but that’s where the similarities end. On the show, John originally came from San Francisco but lost his memory in a car accident. While Calypso isn’t around to grant any wishes, his goal is to earn a permanent place in New San Francisco and become the first “Milkman” to retire.

In Twisted Metal: Black, John is an inmate in Blackfield Asylum, whose wish is to regain his lost memories. He believes he was once part of a gang that tried to blow up a Disease Control building, but his ending revealed he was an undercover FBI agent who prevented the bombing from going ahead. While this revelation makes him one of the game’s more heroic figures, his wish to learn who he was is still twisted ironically by Calypso.

14. Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth is played by Samoa Joe (though voiced by Will Arnett) in Twisted Metal. Easily the most ironic character from the games, this version of Sweet Tooth was a former child star whose jealousy over his co-star – a loveable dog – drives him into a murderous rage that gets him sent to an asylum. Doe and Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz) first encounter Sweet Tooth in Vegas, and the psychotic clown later goes on a road trip across the Divided States of America, attacking various law enforcement outposts and building a cult.

Sweet Tooth’s haunting clown mask and ice cream truck are staples of the Twisted Metal games, but his backstory has been reinvented many times. In Twisted Metal 4 he even became the organizer of the contest, having overthrown Calypso, but in nearly every title he’s depicted as a serial killer with an appetite for chaos. In the most recent outing, 2012’s Twisted Metal, Sweet Tooth’s wish was to find the “One who got away,” referencing the only one of his victims to escape with their life.

13. Raven

Neve Campbell plays Raven in Twisted Metal, the COO of New San Francisco. While technically one of the series’ main villains, Raven only appears in the first and last episodes, and her true plan is only revealed in Twisted Metal’s final scenes. The character also has no real relation to the Raven featured in Twisted Metal: Black. That take on Raven was a goth teenager who entered the tournament to gain revenge on the boys who were responsible for her best friend’s death. In a rare case of Calypso not being a douche, Raven actually got her happy ending.

12. Agent Stone

Thomas Haden Church’s Agent Stone acts as the main antagonist of Twisted Metal, being responsible for the death of Quiet’s brother and chasing after her and John Doe. Stone was a mall cop who earned little respect before the apocalypse, but when the world ended, he became a ruthless enforcer of the law who punishes the most minor offenses. The original Twisted Metal featured the first version of Agent Stone, a secret agent who drove the sleek Crimson Fury, while Twisted Metal:  Black introduced the version the TV series is likely based on. This Stone is another strict lawman, but one who wants to undo a past mistake.

11. Agent Shepard

In Twisted Metal: Head-On for the PSP, Agent Shepard is an upstanding FBI agent who becomes the new driver of the Crimson Fury. His wish is simple: if he wins the tournament, he’ll bring down Calypso himself. Jared Bankens plays Agent Shepard in the TV adaptation, who besides having long hair and working in law enforcement is a completely different character. This Shepard is Stone’s cruel henchman and becomes one of the targets for Quiet’s revenge for his brother’s death.

10. Miranda Watts

Jamie Neumann plays Miranda Watts in Peacock’s live-action series, Twisted Metal, who is the leader of a convoy of trucks that never stops moving. She’s also in a relationship with Diany Rodriguez’s florist Amber, with the convoy becoming allies of John and Quiet during their road trip. In the finale, Miranda drives the Twister car, just like her Twisted Metal: Head-On namesake. That version of the character entered the race to track down her missing sister.

9. Amber Rose

Diany Rodriguez’s Amber appears to be based on Amber Rose, a character from Twisted Metal III. In that much-maligned outing, Amber drove the Flower Power car and was an environmentalist who entered the competition in order to stop it from destroying the world.

8. Granny Dread

Granny Dread is another relatively obscure character from the franchise, making her sole appearance in Twisted Metal III. The character is played by Peg O’Keef on the series, who is the original leader of the truck convoy who makes a deal with John to collect something for her in exchange for weapons for his car. In Twisted Metal III, Granny Dread entered the competition (driving the monster truck “Hammerhead”) to end it for good so that she could watch daytime TV in peace.

7. Bloody Mary

Peacock’s take on Bloody Mary is played by Chloe Fineman, an ex-lover of John’s who appears in episode 7 “NUTH0UZ.” This finds John and Quiet stopping at a Milkman Pitstop – which features cameos from other Twisted Metal game characters – with Mary recalling their history together. Mary’s anger that her feelings for John were never returned and that he’s set to retire thanks to his mystery package makes her scheme against him. In the games, Bloody Mary drives the Spectre, and after a lifetime of romantic rejection, enters the race to finally meet her one true love.

6. Carl & Jamie Roberts

Brother and sister duo Carl and Jamie Roberts were upstanding police officers in the original games, with Carl driving the Outlaw in the first title. Following his disappearance – due to Calypso sending him into outer space in his Twisted Metal’s ending – Jamie entered the next tournament to find him. On the show, Carl is played by Michael Carollo while Chelle Ramos plays Jamie. The two are still officers of the law, but sadly that means obeying Agent Stone.

5. Calypso

Calypso is the mysterious organizer of the tournament in the games – aside from Twisted Metal 4 – who can grant the winners anything their heart desires, Calypso’s origin is something of a mystery, and he serves as an antagonist in every entry. He only makes a brief appearance on the Twisted Metal show; his voice is heard through a loudspeaker in episode 7, and he’s briefly shown from behind in the finale. Twisted Metal season 1’s ending sets up the contest itself for season 2, where Calypso will undoubtedly become a major character.

4. Mike & Stu

One of the show’s deepest pulls is Mike and Stu, the drivers of the Hammerhead monster truck from Twisted Metal 2. They haven’t appeared in a game since, but they’re major supporting players in Peacock’s Twisted Metal. Stu (Mike Mitchell) and Mike (Tahj Vaughans) become new agents for Stone, only for Stu to grow disillusioned with the latter’s brutal methods. He flees and later joins up with Sweet Tooth, which sets former best friends Mike and Stu against one another.

3. Dollface

In Twisted Metal’s finale, John returns to his childhood home, and thanks to finding some old photos, starts to remember his parents and sister. While he assumed everyone was dead, Quiet’s final scene sees her confronted by Dollface and her army of Dolls. This take on Dollface is revealed to be John’s long-lost sister, who is looking for her sibling; whether this is for revenge or not is still a mystery. Dollface appears in both Twisted Metal: Black and the 2012 game; in the latter entry, she was a former supermodel whose face was severely damaged following a car crash.

2. Preacher

Preacher was first introduced in Twisted Metal: Black as the driver of the Brimstone, and he later returned for Twisted Metal 2012. He’s been given a comic reinvention for the TV series, where he’s played by Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). Preacher once again leads The Holy Men as he did in the 2012 game, with his hard-partying crew stealing for him. This includes John’s beloved car Ev3lin, which puts him in conflict with the duo.

1. Twisted Metal “Milkman Pitstop” Cameos

During Twisted Metal episode 7, John and Quiet meet an array of fellow drivers, with several being characters from the game series. This includes silent appearances from Conner Nazang – AKA “Pizza Boy” from Twisted Metal 4 – played by Connor Silcox and Alexa Milano as “Petunia.” “Pit Viper” makes an appearance too, and is presumably Angela Fortin from the original game. Creek Wilson also plays Mr. Slam, which is a vehicle in the games but the owner of the pitstop on the Twisted Metal series, who earns his nickname for a rather unusual talent.