Agent 47, the leading man of the Hitman franchise, has been through a lot during his tenure as the world’s greatest assassin. He’s jet-set across the entire globe multiple times over, killed evil clones of himself, killed people with guns, killed people with engineering feats of Rube Goldbergian proportions...basically, he has killed. Often. It’s literally what he was genetically engineered to do. That, and look amazing in bespoke suits. This trend continues in 2021 with Hitman 3's release, to high praise from TheGamer's own Kirk McKeand, no less.
But, the superassassin's world isn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, IO, the developer of the long-running series, has a proclivity for adding lots of levity to this World of Assassination. Throughout the various iterations of 47’s adventures, there have been many running jokes or odd gags that bring joy to players. The studio really loves an Easter egg, and it always has, as evidenced below.
10 The Burglars From Home Alone Are Targets In Hitman
Marv Gonif and Harry Bagnato – a.k.a. The Wet Bandits – famous for their suburban Chicago exploits in Home Alone and their continued buffoonery in New York, somehow broke out of jail yet again to wind up in Paris. They must have made someone mad this time, as Hitman made them prime targets as part of a holiday update.
It is literally the same characters from the films, too, confirmed from the in-game notes. IO has a knack for their escalation contracts being a blast, but this trumps any of those. Knocking them out repeatedly with bricks ala Kevin McAllister granted extra points to daring assassins, and successfully killing the duo yielded 47 the ability to permanently don a Santa costume for some year-round slaying. Merry Christmas ya filthy animals, indeed.
9 Hitman: Blood Money’s Zombie Boat From Hell
One of 47’s missions in Hitman: Blood Money took him down the Mississippi River, tracking a gaggle of gang members stowed away on an old-timey tanker. For some reason, though, if 47 killed one of the gang members and one of the boat's guards in a specific way, the rest of the NPCs on board the ship would start lurching around like zombies.
On top of that, all the AI can now take extra damage before collapsing...only to shortly rise once again. The only way NPCs stay dead is via a bullet to the brain, the classic zombie execution-style. Hitman games tend to have a lot of strange or interesting things to try and pull off, but this one takes the boat.
8 Hitman’s Tutorial Boat Is From "ICEA"
In the opening minutes of both Hitman and Hitman 2, 47 refreshes his skills on a big old wooden boat on a big old wooden tutorial stage. It looks silly and partially unfinished, like the back of a sitcom set, but sturdily crafted and smooth. Apparently, the craftsmanship stems from the fact that the International Contract Agency, the shadowy company 47 performs hits for, bought the entire fake boat set from "ICEA," a cute play on IKEA.
The assembly manual is hanging out in plain sight on a workbench in the bottom of the boat for everyone’s favorite assassin to find, complete with instructions. One can only wonder if they're already building a new set for the confirmed next installment of Hitman.
7 Hitman: Contract’s T2: Judgement Day Shotgun Flower Box
During the "Traditions of the Trade" mission, while scouring the hotel for hidden passageways or useful goodies, 47 can enter a florist shop on the ground floor. On a desk is an elongated box, seemingly full of roses. However, upon closer inspection, there appears to be a wild shotgun hiding amongst the prickly red love blooms.
47 even opens the box in a similar fashion as Arnold does in T2: Judgement Day. Using the hidden shotgun to kill someone, even an innocent NPC, will net players the Termination trophy in the HD remaster. Maybe not the most stealthy of approaches, but cold, heartless robots don’t care about sticking to the shadows.
6 Kane And Lynch Are Peppered Throughout Hitman: Absolution
Fresh off the success of Hitman: Blood Money, IO went in a different, more action-oriented direction and released the infamous Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. It was a bad game about bad people that wound up getting a man fired for his honest review. Not content to let these dead men rest, the two criminals pop-up as NPCs in a few different missions throughout the course of Hitman: Absolution.
Kane is still the tortured soul trying to reconnect with his daughter, and Lynch is a freak looking to get his rocks off. 47 can totally mess them up, too, most notably during a bar brawl. What other video game characters could he kill? Who knows...
5 Hitman: Contracts Lets You Kill A Ghost
Agent 47 is often referred to as a ghost-like figure. Not much is known about him. It’s not well known that once upon a time, he actually met a ghost. In Hitman: Contracts, it is possible to see, and even kill, a real, honest-to-goodness specter. Buried deep in the closed-off wing of the hotel from the "Traditions of the Trade" mission, this opaque figure can be seen at the end of a corridor.
If gazed upon for too long, the ghost seemingly disappears, and if shot, blood splatters and the ghost’s hazy white becomes a ghoulish red. Oh, and he can be garotted to death and dragged all around the hotel for the whole world to see. In the HD remaster, doing this even nets players the Ghostbuster achievement.
4 Hitman 2’s Special Flamingo Flight
Ah, Miami. A city most known for its sun, sand, and man-sized flamingos flying all over the place. Well, at least in Hitman 2’s reality. Fun fact: 47 can literally fly himself out of the level while dressed as the flamingo mascot. All players have to do is run to the helipad near the racetrack after all targets are eliminated while, again, dressed as the flamingo.
There’s a big bird nest up there, which should prompt the assassin to exit the mission. And when he does, he does in style. Kind of. 47 awkwardly flaps his wings and takes flight before freezing in the default model position as the awards screen comes up. If anyone says the Hitman series is too serious, tell them about this.
3 Hitman Unleashes The Kraken
In the beautiful Italian seaside town of Sapienza, Agent 47 can take in the sights, browse the local shops, break into an underground viral laboratory, or turn his gaze to the ocean and lay his eyes upon the local wildlife. It’s not a dolphin or something, though; it’s The Kraken.
Everyone’s favorite assassin can, with a sniper rifle and steady hand, shoot four bells upon a ship far in the distance, adrift on the open ocean. If 47 nails all four bells – a very hard challenge, of which Hitman 2 has several – the Kraken is summoned, and it devours the ship in one fell swoop. So, on top of being a genetically engineered superassassin, Agent 47 is also a Kraken Whisperer? His resume must look insane.
2 Rubber Duckies
Ever since the beginning, way back in Hitman: Codename 47, the titular assassin has used quite literally every tool at his disposal to get the job done. One tool that has appeared in some way, shape, or form in every installment is the innocuous rubber duck. Ducks are everywhere in this series.
Sometimes, they’re hiding in the shadows, waiting to be found. Sometimes, they come in the form of an easily-concealable explosive. As the series has progressed, the rubber duck has become a more integral part of 47’s success. Truth be told, the rubber ducks are probably the most reliable allies the hitman has ever had, which is kind of sad if you think about it. Thus is the life of a ghost though, huh?
1 Allan, The Notoriously Forgetful Flavor Text Writer
“Allan, please add details.” A simple phrase, left in the finished product of Hitman: Blood Money, quickly became a video game in-joke that has spanned multiple titles, franchises, and platforms. In the mission "A Dance with the Devil," 47 can use a crate of lobsters found in a freezer to smuggle weapons into a spooky party where his targets are mingling.
The crate’s description, however, is the now-famous placeholder text that was overlooked by accident. The joke intentionally appears in Absolution, Hitman, and the Trilogy HD remake of Blood Money, where it was updated to “Any details yet, Allan?” Apparently not!