Skullgirls/Shout-Out

Skullgirls has a ton of shout-outs as both Mike Z and Alex Ahad are fanboys of a lot of things.

• Filia's Hairball move is a shout-out to Felicia's Rolling Buckler, which may in itself be a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • Phonetically, the name Filia sounds very similar to Millia, another hair-based fighter.
  • She has palettes based on Hatsune Miku, Saki, Scanty, and even Millia herself.
  • The super in which Samson turns them into a flying cockroach is announced by him as "Metamorphosis!"
    • Apparently it's even called "Gregor Samson".
    • Filia also sometimes says, "HENSHIIIIN!" when using Gregor Samson.
  • One of her attacks involves tossing her hair forward in an array of sharp instruments like forks, knives and spikes. One of these sharp instruments is the Lance of Longinus.
  • Her Updo special and Wolf Chomp super in which Samson turns into a giant hair maw happens to be a shout out to one of the Dustloop forum members who suggested no game with any hair-fighters would be complete without at least one reference to the Pokémon Mawile.
  • The win pose where Samson stands fierce with arms folded is most likely a reference to Ryu's early-yet-iconic win pose in Street Fighter II. He just has Filia substitute for Ryu's headband blowing in the wind.
  • The combination of her eating habits and Samson's appearance on her head bears a similarity to the futakuchi-onna, who in Japanese mythology is a woman with a mouth on the back of her head that's driven to eat and eat.
  • The bar in the opening of her story mode is a parody of the famous Nighthawks painting, and is named after Madman's Cafe.
  • Mike Z has described Filia as the game's ryu-clone. She has Hadoken-motion projectile, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku-motion spinning extended attack that works in air, and Shoryuken-motion uppercut.
• Cerebella's gameplay is said to be based off of Juggernaut and Potemkin.
  • One of her moves has her shouting "EXCELLENT!" while Vice-Versa throws up the heavy-metal "horns" gesture. During said move, Vice-Versa's eyes briefly turn into Kamina's shades while Cerebella herself does the "Pierce the Heavens" pose.
  • One of her command throws sometimes has her saying "I'M GONNA TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE!"
  • There's a running attack in which Vice-Versa sprouts ram's horns on its "head" and attacks face-first. You even get the standard 2000-point bonus if you manage to kill someone with it.
  • The move Track Run followed by medium kick will result in a cross up identical to Kakashi's Taijutsu Ougi:Sennin Goroshi (1000 Years of Pain) from the Naruto anime/manga.
    • This is actually a reference to a type of Japanese prank known as kancho.
  • One move has her shouting "Diamonds are FOREVER!" or "A girl's best friend!" while she punches a giant diamond at the enemy.
  • She has a close range move where Vice-Versa performs a Finger Gun point. While doing this, the poses of the duo are reminiscent of Jotaro Kujo and Star Platinum.
  • Cerebella's second alt color is a reference to R. Mika
  • She also has a Potemkin color palette.
  • She also has an emerald green outfit similar to one of Tager's alternates—the same palette that lead designer Mike Z uses when playing Tager in BlazBlue.
  • Another of her palettes has her referencing NiGHTS from Journey of Dreams.
  • She also has a palette swap with red-and-black clothing, making her look somewhat like Harley Quinn.
• Peacock's techniques are Shout Outs to many things.
  • The little bird in her hat is named Avery. Her bomb friends are named Lenny and George (formerly Little Boy and Fat Man, but you can understand why it was changed).
  • Her Argus System is a reference to the Argus of Greek Mythology. That Argus had a hundred eyes (some of those eyes in his arms). When that Argus died, Hera placed his eyes in the peacock's tail as tribute.
  • She can shoot swords out of her gun (Roll with it). These swords go from the Fireseal and Blodia Fist to the Buster Sword, the Gunblade and a Chainsword.
  • Occasionally, when she fires her gun, she'll shout "Garbage day!" With the exact same weird enunciation as the film, just in case you had any doubts about whether it was a reference.
  • Another of her gun quotes is |"Reach for the sky!"
  • One of her crouching attacks kicks the opponent with the Kuribo's Shoe from Super Mario Bros. 3, complete with the good ol' "HERE-A WE GO!".
  • Her block techniques often have her holding up an actual block of something—from a cinderblock to an L-block.
  • Peacock's reference palettes include Cable, The Grinch, Cirno, Blossom, Dorothy, Carl, and Relius. Bonus Points - the Cirno palette is number 9.
    • More Bonus Points - Upon gaining the Skull Heart in her story mode, she says "Who needs wishes? I'm already the strongest there is!" "I'm the strongest!" being one of Cirno's memetic catchphrases....
  • She can summon random piano drops on her opponent, from an actual piano, to a barrel with a turkey inside. Other drops include: A Yukkuri with Ms. Fortune's face Hsien-Ko's Tenrai-ha super A television with the Nico Nico Douga face or with Filia dressed as Sadako coming out of it. A steamroller, complete with her partner Avery standing on top and shouting WRYYYYYYY! when it hits. On top of that, rarely, when it hits time will stop while the palette shifts. A moai head The Refrigerator from Requiem for a Dream.
  • Another attack is her kicking and missing a football, yelling "Good grief!" when she trips. The alternate line for that technique is "Laces out!"
  • One attack turns her arm-eyes into blades, the classic visual pun on "looking daggers" at someone. The chances of her also shouting "Like THIIIIIIIIS!" are about one in five.
  • Keeping with the WFRR theme, one of her win quotes (when defeating Parasoul) is "You're not bad, you're just drawn badly"—riffing on Parasoul's undeniable resemblance to Jessica Rabbit.
    • Her jumping Medium Kick, which involves her beartrap mouth, is called "Nice Booby Trap", a line from Eddie Valiant about the bear trap that Jessica Rabbit keeps in a very punny place.
  • Her line upon encountering Filia is "Maybe she's born with it." It's part of the slogan for Maybelline hair care products.
  • Her line upon encountering Ms. Fortune is "A puddy tat!"—to which Ms. Fortune replies "Thufferin' thuccotash!"
  • Her line upon encountering Valentine is "HELLOOOOOO NURSE!"
  • Two of her win quotes are "I never forget a face, but for you, I'll make an exception" and "Either you're dead or my watch has stopped," all while smoking a cigar.
  • Groucho's not the only Thirties/Forties comedy icon Peacock pays homage to, either. She also quotes at least two of Moe Howard's catchphrases ("Why, I oughta--" and "Spread out!"), which isn't surprising given her devotion to violent slapstick.
  • Her time-out animations seems to be a reference to Daffy Duck being shot by Elmer Fudd.
  • One of Peacock's lines on being KO-ed is "I smell bread"—a reference to MASH by way of Veronica Mars.
  • Before getting pulled away by a Vaudeville Hook, she'll mutter "Hello my baby-".
  • Her jumping fierce punch, which involves her firing a shotgun and being blown backwards by the force, is called Robo With A Shotgun.
  • Her skills would state that Peacock must have learned from Noroko.
  • And, of course, Peacock herself is a blatant homage to the cartoons of the '30s and '40s, what with the Cartoon Bombs, Portable Holes, Fudd-esque shotgun, and so on.
  • In her Story Mode, she's awoken from bed by Avery saying "Hey! Listen!"
  • Among her many other intro lines are gems such as "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday, for a knuckle sandwich today."
  • Unsurprisingly, she can also say "Of course, you know, this means war!" as an intro line, "Ain't I a stinka?" and "What a maroon!" when she wins, and "This ain't Albuquerque!" when tagged in.
• Parasoul has a Level 3 super that's similar to one of BB Hood's.
  • She has palettes referencing Olivia Armstrong, Mireille Bouquet, Megurine Luka, Jessica Rabbit, Mitsuru Kirijo, and Kneesocks.
  • There's a small chance (1 in 20) that one of her assist soldiers will say "Well, ex-CUSE me, Princess!" when called.
  • There is a small chance that one of the Egrets yells "NOOOOOO!" when diving to protect her. It sounds remarkably similar to Darth Vader's infamous lament at the end of Star Wars Episode III.
  • In two of her supers she can be heard to say "Egrets assemble!" and "Egrets, roll out!" respectively.
  • She can also be heard saying "One Million Troops!", Tak Fuji's infamous like from E3 2010, when using her Motor Brigade super move.
  • The line for her sniper super is, "Ready, number thirteen!"
  • Her inverted cross pendent is probably a reference to Murdoc Niccals.
  • She borrowed Chun-Li's jd.MK.
  • One of the Black Egrets, Molly, has a talking pose where she salutes, closes her eyes and has an open zigzagged mouth, which may remind some people of Wobbuffet.
• Ms. Fortune's original outfit seems to be a reference to Makoto (the general appearance) and Lara Croft (the color and the pouches she has on her belt). Since then, her color scheme and hairstyle have changed to stand out from the other characters and be more fitting with the 30's era.
  • She has color palettes referencing Black★Rock Shooter, Morrigan, Celty Sturluson, Makoto, and the Kagamine Twins to compliment the other Vocaloid palettes above.
  • Her air dash, and a lot of her blood splattering moves resemble Jedah's moves.
  • Her anti-air special, Fiber Uppercut, is named similarly to an anti-air used by Sagat.
  • During her level 1 super, she might end up saying "Furr-serker Purr-age!" which is where the move drew its inspiration from. Alternatively, she might say "Cat Scratch Fever!"
  • Her level 3 is named "The Fifth of Dismember".
  • This isn't the first time a disembodied head has told someone to "Get ready for a surprise!"
  • One of her opening quotes against Filia (who's a little pudgy) is "Can I have a cheeseburger?" Of course, she doesn't appreciate having it turned around on her.

Cerebella: You can has cheezburger?
Ms. Fortune: That's RACIST!

• • Her entrance resembles Cammy's, aside from her head spinning 180 degrees.
  • One of her winning quotes is "YOU'RE TEARING US APART!"
  • Another win quote is "A claws encounter of the furred kind."
    • Although that specific pun on it was also used in Bubsy as the subtitle for the first game, so it's conceivable it's a reference to that.
  • One of her specials involves a dash forward filled with scratching the opponent. With her head off, she headbutts the opponent backwards.
  • One of her special attacks is done with three repetitions of the same button combination (Quarter-circle forward + Punch), similar acharacters like Fei-Long, Karin Kanzuki or Iron Fist. That's not the Shout-Out part, however - these types of characters are known as "Rekka-style" characters. What does Ms. Fortune say if you finish the three-hit special with one of two alternate enders? Either "Wreck-a your face!" or "Wreck-a your shins!"
  • She announces one of her low attacks by saying, "Tail spin!"
  • Sometimes when she bowls her head at the opponent, she'll say "Rolling start!"
• Painwheel's Super Mode, "Hatred Install", is probably inspired by Sol Badguy's Dragon Install.
  • Her "Death Crawl" super move may be inspired by The Exorcist.
    • Or, alternately, Voldo.
  • Like Filia, she also has a move that's like the Spin Dash. Painwheel's imitates the motion, rather than the appearance.
• Valentine's stance is the same as Mai Shiranui's from the later King of Fighters games.
  • Her EKG Flatliner special is similar to Ibuki's Yami Shigure special.
  • She has a color palette resembling Yowane Haku, keeping the Vocaloid theme going.
  • One of her supers involves throwing scalpels the same way as Dio Brando.
  • One of her special moves is very similar to Chipp Zanuff's Alpha Blade special.
  • She has a command grab patterned after fellow-ninja Guy's Izuna Drop.
  • Valentine may or may not be as crazy when in the OP Table as other insane doctors from fighting games, such as Dr. Faustus or Dr. Baldhead.
  • Heck, she's even got a reference to Trauma Center in the name and description of her achievement, "The Medical Board Will Be Notified".
  • Valentine's Level 3 Super features the opponent getting seven different kinds of messed up, but said messing up is concealed behind medical screens and red flashes. Very similar to Akuma's Raging Demon attack.
  • If she loses by timeout, she explodes into a mass of bones as if hit by a Mortal Kombat 3 fatality, down to the multiple skulls and ribcages.
• Double's "Filia Slide" special is explicitly stated to emulate Sub-Zero's, right down to the input.
  • Her level 5 super turns her into a Gradius Moai head.
    • Its name? Megalith Array.
  • Her Cerebella special has her slam herself into the opponent, much like R. Mika.
  • Her jump animation is extremely similar to Arakune's.
  • One of her intro quotes has her ask "What is a man?", and one of her winquotes answers "A miserable little pile of secrets", which also doubles as a Shout Out to the game's composer.
    • She also will sometimes say "Have at you!" when using her Peacock super.
    • One of her attacks is called Item Crash.^[1]
• Marie will occasionally say "Rise from your graves" when summoning skeletons from the floor.
  • The skulls she shoots at you move just like Medusa Head. And, yes, they're just as annoying.
  • When transforming, Marie will occasionally say "I can't control it!" in reference to Phoenix's transformation into Dark Phoenix in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
• The stages, too, are packed with cultural injokes. One of the main stages, Ms. Fortune's current hangout, is known as Little Innsmouth.
  • It is also populated mostly by Fish People.
• Even the announcer is not above making shout-outs:
  • This is Tuna with Bacon! Let's Rock!
  • The Gorilla Fate is Yearning! Action!
  • Impossible to Gauge!
  • It's super effective!
  • Can anybody stop this fighting machine?!
    • It all depends on your skill!
    • Beat 'em up, guys!
    • Go for broke!
  • Now you're playing with power!
• Some of the hit-counter names are references:
  • A mere 11 hits is a King Combo, 12 hits is a Killer Combo.
  • 42 hits is "Meaningful"
  • 53 hits is "Cromulent"
  • 121 hits is "Gigawatt"
  • 300 is "Madness"
  • 420 is "Everyday"
  • 808 is "Stately" (after the techno band 808 State).
• One of the achievements for the game is Real Circus Damage. Another is Toil and Trouble.
• The psychic director of Lab Zero is called Brain Drain.
• Early on in Parasoul's story mode, Umbrella had apparently expected to see: "Sonic boobs, pool balls, and KFC Combos" when she came along to see her at work. It helps when you know Parasoul plays like a charge character, which is what Guile and Venom are considered to be as well. Parasoul's playstyle is somewhat reminiscent of Venom, as well.
• One of the background characters is a sleeping man in a familiar outfit leaning against a wall next to a sand bag.
  • Said sandbag looks an awful lot like Bonus-Kun from Waku Waku 7.
• In the downloadable character movelist, each page says "SHOW ME YOUR MOVES".
• In Peacock's story mode we meet Hive, a resident of the Anti-Skullgirl Labs, who we can see in the background of the stage as well. Other than her name, her outfit and lavender hair bear a resemblance to Q Bee.
• In the tutorial screen there is a drawing of Ms. Fortune's head forming the bottom slime in a slime tower from the Dragon Quest series.
• Killing off 2 characters at the same time or dealing a very large amount of damage in one combo will result in legendary 3rd Strike commentator John Dangerous Rockefeller laughing. This itself is also supposedly a shout out to Dan Forden shouting "Toasty!" in Mortal Kombat.

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1. ↑ i.e. Grand Corss and Hydro Storm )