Continuity Cavalcade in the Hitman World of Assassination Trilogy.
Hitman (2016)
- At the end of the tutorial, there is a montage of 47 assassinating various targets from the past five games while narration talks about his past successes. The targets are: the Red Dragon Negotiator, sniped from the casino marquee, Masahiro Hayamoto Jr., who ingested sushi poisoned with fugu toxin, Fritz Fuchs, who was drowned, Fernando Xalvador Delgado, garroted with the fiber wire, and Dom Osmond, shot in the head through a one-way mirror.
Hitman 2
Hawke's Bay
- One of the militia members digging the trench on the beach asks about the Shadow Clients' hits and another member recalls the list; those being:
- Eugene Cobb (who went missing before the events of the 2016).
- Thomas Cross (a Reclusive father of the primary target in Bangkok's "Club 27" mission: Jordan Cross, who was killed specifically so the Shadow Client could draw him out to take all his hidden money that Cross had in offshore accounts).
- A woman from Blue Seed Pharmaceuticals (Blue Seed was first introduced in Colorado, and was the main antagonist in the Agent 47: Birth of the Hitman comic; the hit itself is likely in reference to Cheryl Franklin, whose final fate was left ambiguous as the comic never elaborated if Soders successfully killed Cheryl before rescuing Diana from her Elite Mooks, and who may or not have been killed by Grey here).
- Rex Larsson (A CEO of a shipping company, he appears in a news report in the house).
Isle of Sgàil
- A pair of ladies are having a conversation about the Gorski art piece "Artist as a Blank Canvas", and how Patricia Van Horne, an influential member of art and culture around the globe, (and a member of the Ark Society), stole it to be placed into Ark Society storage. This is in reference to the previous mission's news broadcast, whereby Pam Kingsley reports on the theft of said art piece.
- One of the Ark Society patrons mentions having once attended a Heaven and Hell-themed masquerade party. He also mentions that someone got eaten by a shark, referring to one of the ways of killing Vaana Ketlyn.
- The Keep has a book on display that prominently displays the manifesto of the Liberation Cult
◊, a Death Cult that was the antagonist featured in the "Patient Zero" Campaign. This heavily implies that either the Ark Society or Providence (or perhaps both) were the ones responsible for the creation of the Nabazov Virus and the plans for a global pandemic. - Once again, 47 can infiltrate a funeral service which has "Ave Maria" playing. The achievement for killing Zoe whilst disguised as Janus is even called "Blood Money".
- If 47 is able to steal a valuable necklace without being noticed, Diana praises him as being the equal of the Sparrow, a member of the Yardbirds criminal ring 47 kills in Himmelstein, and the first target of the ICA facility tutorial.
- Two custodians discussing Zoe and Sophia talk about how Ken Morgan, one of the previous game's targets, successfully defended them by claiming they had "rich kid syndrome". When one mentions rumors of him being assassinated, he dismisses the claim as an "alt-right conspiracy theory".
Hitman 3
Dubai
- Getting Grey to talk to the Partners has Ingram rattle off a few of the hits in the trilogy:
- Eugene Cobb (whom Grey murdered before the events of 2016).
- Viktor Novikov (One of 47's targets in Paris, and the first mission in the trilogy).
- Silvio Caruso (Primary target in Sapienza's "World of Tomorrow" mission, creator of the ETHER virus Providence wanted to use to make "armchair assassins").
- The Washington Twins (Zoe and Sophia Washington run The Ark Society, a doomsday cult and Providence think tank asset).
- Everyone at HAVEN (The HAVEN Trio; Ljudmila Vetrova, Tyson Williams, and Steven Bradley all run a service that changed the identities of the partners).
- "Our Bank" refers to the Milton Fitzpatrick Bank, which both Grey and 47 had raided on two separate occasions; Grey to get all of Providences' operatives names, and the second to get the partners' new identities in "Golden Handshake".
- And finally, he mentions Grey outing Providence, referring to the hostage tape video seen and heard in Mumbai.
Chongqing
- In the default starting point, 47 has to search through the ICA Files, which brings up results for the 47 and Diana's "Sanctioned Targets", and he finds the following:
- Most of the mission targets from the previous two games are accounted for, with Wazir Kale being the only one missing. However, there is the odd inclusion of Zoe and Sophia Washington (from Hitman 2's "The Ark Society"), who shouldn't be in this list as neither of them were sanctioned targets of the ICA, something The Constant even mentions to 47 when you escort him to the docks in that same mission.
- All but one of 2016's Elusive Targetsnote are part of the "Sanctioned Targets" list. This makes a great deal of sense as most of these targets were connected in some way to their level, and are oftentimes explicitly hired by (or are guests of) the main targets. The Elusive Targets that didn't reference ongoing events were standalone enough that they could be considered taking place earlier or later in the game's timeline. Some like Nne Obara (The Warlord) had already been referenced outside of their mission. This does create a Series Continuity Error where Etta Davis (The Angel of Death) was strongly implied to have killed the Headmaster in her briefing, yet the following mission has a specific Call-Back to the novels he was writing.
- Half of the targets from the Patient Zero campaign are included, with only Sister Yulduz and Klaus Lieblied being absent. This is because they both reuse their faces from generic modelsnote , and thus never got renders that'd fit the Elusive Target briefing art style. The rest of the campaigns' targets did because they were originally Dummied Out Elusive Targets that were repurposed. This is also why Bradley Paine and Oybek Nabazov are using their original codenames of "The Conditioner" (not "The Vector") and "The Doomsayer" (not "The Source"), as that's what their original codenames were.
- Hidden among the 2016 Elusive Target cast is Renzo and Orlando Caruso, A.K.A; "The Brothers", both of whom were famously cut from the (2016) games' Elusive Target roster. This is a very odd inclusion, as while Renzo and Orlando are both canon characters in-game, as they are a part of the lore of Silvio Caruso growing up in Sapienza, this Elusive Target mission never ran.
- Sophia Washington is using her in-game code name of Serena. When Hitman 2 launched, that old name was briefly used but was changed the following patch, presumably to avoid legal complaints from Serena Williams (to which she bears quite a strong resemblance).
- None of the Hitman 2 Elusive Targets are in the database. While this makes sense for Jimmy Chen (The Stowaway) and Miranda Jamison (The Appraiser) as both are set on the same secretive and remote island, it makes less sense for Mark Faba (The Undying/The Undying Returns), as he was set up to be tied to Robert Knox, not to mention being referenced in the following mission. Even more bafflingly, targets like Dame Barbara Elizabeth Keating (The Politician) and Vincent Murellio (The Revolutionary) were deliberately set in an Ambiguous Time Period and didn't mention any connections to their levels' targets, so their absence from the files here is a bit puzzling.
- None of this game's Elusive Targets are in the ICA database either, although those were released throughout the first year, so Production Lead Time is in full effect here.
- None of the targets of the 2016 Bonus Episodes, 2's Special Assignments, 2016's "The Sarejevo Six"note , the Sniper Assassin targets, or "Shadows in the Water" are in the database.
Mendoza
- This level is filled with continuity nods, bordering on Continuity Porn. The nods towards past events and people turn up in very unexpected places in the level too:
- To Hitman: Blood Money:
- The level takes heavy influence from the first sandbox level of Blood Money; "A Vintage Year", as 47 kills a white-suited old man on their South American vineyard during a public event (referring to Don Fernando Delgado), and even notes that this isn't his first visit to a winery ("A Vintage Year" is based around a winery in Chile).
- The Yates's marriage was in 2006, which is also when Blood Money first released.
- The phrase "A vintage year" is written on a sticky note as a clue for the wine freezer's vault passcode lock (1945).
- When going round the party for a second time, Tamara may ask if 47 killed Alvaro D'Alvade (Target of "Curtains Down" in Blood Money).
- To Hitman: Absolution:
- 47 narrates the Mission Stories in this level, as there's no handler to do so otherwise, something 47 did in the logs section of Absolution where he'd comment on a target or mission and how it affects him.
- Pointing a gun (or the camera) at Diana will make her comment about having Déjà vu, a reference to the start of the game where 47 shoots her as per the contract taken out on her for her apparent betrayal of the ICA.
- When going round the party, Tamara will ask if 47 was responsible for Blake Dexter's death and Diana will reply with one of two Cryptically Unhelpful Answers — either that it was a parallel universenote or that it "explains a lot"note .
- To Hitman (2016):
- You can run in front of the camera and Pam Kingsley in the car park as she's reporting on Vinedo Yates. You can do the same thing to another reporter back in Paris that's covering the Sanguine Fashion Show.
- One of the party planner waitresses on the phone will be surprised at the number of orders for the Bare-Knuckle Boxer at the party. This was the drink Viktor Novikov wanted back in Paris's "The Showstopper" mission, one you could make and poison him with.
- When walking around the party a second time, Vidal may ask if 47 killed Viktor Novikov and Dalia Margolis (the targets from "The Showstopper"), Nicholai Kamarov (The FSB chief whom Grey killed before the events of 2016 that was mounting a case against Novikov; Novikov subsequently hired Grey to kill him so the latter could get his hands on the IAGO Dossier), Dino Bosco (Target of "The Icon"), Craig Black (Primary target of "The Author" in the "Patient Zero" Campaign), and Richard Ekwensi (from "The Ex-Dictator").
- Helmut Kruger has a reservation on a table at the party. The man himself, sadly, does not appear, but according to Martin Ansdel (level designer for Mendoza) in this Discord conversation, there were plans to get Portman and Kruger to finally meet each other, but they ran out of character budget.
- One of Don Yates' guards used to work for Silvio Caruso and was aware that he kept hair and skin samples inside his safe.
- A man near the dance floor admits that he got Richard Ekwensi elected so Providence could use the South African Rhodium Mines he controlled.
- A pair of party guests talk about the murder mystery of Thornbridge Manor, and how one of them managed to get the author of the "Jack Sparta" novels to write up a dramatised book of events from the PI assigned to the case. The "Jack Sparta" novels are in reference to the "Nick Sparta" novels written by the school headmaster in Marrakesh; Shahin Abdul-Barr Maalouf, albeit with the name changed.
- The asado chef has a story about inviting multiple celebrities to a barbecue for a series he creates; among them being Craig Black (from "The Author" in the "Patient Zero" campaign), Jordan Cross (from "Club 27") and Viktor Novikov (from "The Showstopper"). They then explain that Novikov in particular didn't like his Hair-Trigger Temper being on display, and attempted to stall the production company for six months until it was all settled out of court. They also hang a lampshade on how all three are now dead.
- Dexy Barat returns, alongside Heidi Santoro, and both can be found on the upper courtyard of the vineyard talking about why they're there (The Class has a large Argentinian following and Monumental Records, the record label, wants them to be there).
- One method of killing Don involves using a Branson-MD2 microphone set to a high voltage when they make a dinner speech, the same microphone that could be used to kill Jordan Cross.
- Don Yates was the business partner of Ken Morgan, the "Club 27" mission's secondary target. He can also be pushed off a balcony by his wife during a confrontation, exactly like how Morgan could be by Jordan Cross.
- Yates’s fixer, Corvo Black, was initially mentioned by Ken Morgan in a phone conversation in Bangkok's "Club 27".
- After his speech and eating asado, Don Yates will mention Ken Morgans' death to a patron at the party, and then Valentina will mention that they had adopted Kens' dog, Pickles, when Ken died. If 47 holds Ken at gunpoint, he will mention Pickles as a bid to let 47 spare his life.
- One of the women seen dancing during the ball is Ellinor Westrup, the IAGO model that was Zaydan's Honey Trap girlfriend sent to spy on him from Marrakesh's "A Gilded Cage".
- Constructing the Bartoli on the workbench downstairs has 47 recite the mantra of "A place for everything, and everything in its place", a line said by both Sean Rose and Dr. Ito from Colorado and Hokkaido respectively.
- Disguising as a Providence member unlocks the challenge "The Hidden Hand"; in reference to what 47 says in the Colorado's storm shelter when describing Providence.
- To Hitman 2:
- After you kill Vidal, one party guest will talk about taking the position of Rupert Pierce, the head of Dynasty Global that was assassinated by Mr. Donovan on the order of Alma Reynard in Hawke's Bay. She mentions how he passed Mr. Donovan in the hallway on the day Rupert died.
- On the second loop round the party, Tamara will ask if 47 killed Mark Faba ("The Undying"; a disgraced MI6 agent who kept coming back from the dead, despite various confirmed ICA assassination attempts).
- Orson Mills is mentioned going rogue after the Militia disbanded, and after ETHER interrogates him, he becomes a Providence member. You next see him on the train in the final level.
- Rico Delgado and Andrea Martinez's assassinations are mentioned, and Hector Delgado is now in charge, now being referred to as "Mad Dog" by the patrons.
- The asado chef mentions being blindfolded at a party in the middle of the arctic sea, referring to the Isle of Sgàil and "The Ark Society" gathering. Seems that they were in charge of making food for its members, and apparently they had to barbecue while blindfolded, and mentions being blindfolded on the way in and out of the island; the only part of the story which isn't an unreasonable claim as it is a secretive and remote island, and the band on the island were blindfolded specifically for the purpose of keeping it a secret). The asado chef also mentions doing an episode of his TV series in a balloon with Blake Nathanial, a treasure hunter and adventurer from that level.
- Two party guests are talking about De Waal, ETHER'S CEO, being accidentally killed, and mentions his escape via Providence soldiers not long after the events of Mumbai. De Waall, understandably, gained PTSD from the whole experience. This is in reference to the hostage tape the Militia released before the events of Mumbai that Diana mentions in the briefing for "Chasing A Ghost"; you can even hear Pam give a reading of it on Mumbai's TVs.
- One party guest discussing the ICA data leak to his friend tells him to hire Agent Stone, and explicitly mentions his nose bandage ("Don't mention the nose!"). Agent Stone was one of the two multiplayer characters from the previous game's Sniper Assassin mode.
- If the sniping path is followed, Vidal will be in a conversation about how they'd like to die, and mentions that cold history has to happen, and she doesn't fret about the fallout, which has Diana say "It's a dangerous thing, having a conscious" in response, a direct quote from the last line said by Grey in the "Precautions" cinematic.
- Flowers and another wine keeper are musing about unlocking the 1945 Grand Paladin from the vault at Yate's request. He mentions the story of how Yates got his hands on it, and his description suggests the wine is extremely rare (as in, less than six bottle kind of rare), and they remember seeing logos for "The Ark Society" on the crate when it arrived, but were clueless to the details. Not only is this a reference to "The Ark Society", a doomsday club for the social elite, but said society collected potential art and historical pieces of culture of humankind's accomplishments for when the rapture hits — the implication here is that the Society has the remaining bottles back on the island.
- Two men near the asado pit discuss the deaths of Zoe and Sophia Washington from "The Ark Society", and how their father Byron Washington correctly believes they were killed in a plot to obtain the Constant. Blake Nathaniel is mentioned as a potential candidate for Chairman alongside Eddie Engelhorn, who was Janus' original pick.
- To Agent 47: Birth of the Hitman:
- When conversing with Tamara Vidal on the subject of Corvo Black, Diana will remark how they never took any of his contracts due to being a "nasty piece of work", and admits that her fellow colleagues were not as picky. While it's been implied in the games for a while now that ICA Handlers pick contracts based on more than just professional intuition, and often take out contracts they themselves may be invested in personally (even if it's not for personal gain); this is the first time the games have actually acknowledged this fact. This was first explicitly shown in issue 6 of the comic, where Robyn Gore chooses Diana's first contract to be a handler on: a hit on Franklin Marchand and Brickolage Technologies. Robyn knew Diana would take the contract as a similar company (Blue Seed Pharmaceuticals) ruined her life, and so would want to exact personal revenge.
- Disguising as Aron Ford Jr. (The lawyer outside the party) and then meeting with Don Yates to give him his case file filled with research done on Diana has 47 give a cliff notes introduction of their bio, in that she was orphaned when she was young and tried to fight back against Blue Seed pharmaceuticals with various exploits, and notes that her rap sheet is "quite extensive". He will then also rattle off two of the hits from the past two games (Whittleton Creek, then either Dubai, Sapienza, or Bangkok). Ford Jr. will also discuss all of the contracts against Providence (the aforementioned ones alongside Marrakesh, Hokkaido, Miami, Isle of Sgail, and Dartmoor).
- In the cutscene after the mission, Diana repeats similar sentiments from one of the last pages of the comic, about how she saw him as a blank page, and that she could use him however she saw fit. Here, Diana says she saw him as a blank slate and told herself that that's what you needed, and that people are not meant to be controlled, essentially bookending her statement from the comic.
- Miscellaneous:
- Disguising as the Wine expert and finishing the tour has 47 note that the security in the Barrel room prevents access to some of the more precious wines on display and that you'd have to be "the Sparrow" to get in. The Sparrow is the codename of Kalvin Ritter, who was a thief so notorious that the ICA made a training simulation based on one of his handoff events that functions as the tutorial for this and the past two games.
- On the first loop around the party, Tamara will recall all the Providence-affiliated targets, as well as Greys' Militia heads, that 47 killed in the trilogy, and notes Yates won't be happy about Ken Morgan's death.
- When going round the party for a second time, Tamara will ask if 47 killed Lord Winston Beldingford (Target of "Beldingford Manor" in Contracts).
- Once Tamara is eliminated, Diana will proceed to engage in friendly conversations with the other guests. One of them is Dolores Powell, an ex-ICA handler who was forced to leave after a disastrous contract. Her agent (Jaguar) thought it would be a good idea to try a 47-esque kill during a hit at a Christmas party, but managed to kill everyone but the target! This is a reference to Overachievers, a side story made in 2017 that is all about this exact event from the viewpoint of ICA Cleaners.
- To Hitman: Blood Money:
Carpathian Mountains
- An interactive version. 47's memories are shown to us, revealing that Novikov was killed by the falling stage lights, Soders was killed by the operating table going berserk (whether or not this was caused by Dr. Laurant while he was high on drugs, or 47 overriding it after disabling the KAI AI is left unclear), while Diana's parents were blown up by 47, with the young Diana getting blown back.
