Theories abound about the Gman and every man and his dog think they know who he is, but will we ever learn the truth about Gman?
I doubt that Valve will completely tell us everything, that aura of mystery is very important and always leaves the door open for other adventures in various forms of media.
I doubt it!
Voted no. He has to stay as a mystery with his bosses even more mysterious.
Learning the truth would explode the myth.
He’s the Stig 😉
Yup
That doesn’t work anymore.. Stig’s identity isn’t a secret anymore, unfortunately..
I voted “no”.
He is just one of the many facets of the Game that makes it so appealing.
He is an enigma, although whether that is by accident or design, I don’t know.
No, he’ll stay a mystery, there are just too many conflicting details, unanswered questions, mysteries, and speculation surrounding him for even a small majority of fans to be satisfied with any definitive answer.
Let me take a moment to check over past speculation I’ve made about gman, the one I posted at planetphillip is my most reasonable answer, though it kills a lot of the mystery:
My personal belief is that he is essentially a human with abilities similar to those achieved through Vortescence, but he’s also been running on those abilities so long that he doesn’t really remember how to be human anymore.
I added this to that speculation somewhere:
If any there were to be any specific group that he would be working for, it would be aperture science, which would explain why he essentially helped sabatoge Black Mesa, but then worked with Gordon Freeman to allow him to destroy the combine. The only group that would clearly benefit from both of these events would be aperture science. The portal technology that their involvement would bring to the table would also explain how Gman is able to constantly show up in hard to reach places and leave without any clear exits. Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that gman ultimately is still working towards his own interests.
I also came up with a more wild speculation, mainly just for the sake of being ridiculous:
Breen’s Host body is Gordon Freeman from the future. This gave him a number of odd mannerisms as well as a making a number of changes to the body itself. The result was his ability to move differently through time, and once he recognized who he was, he set about going back in time to set the series of events in motion that would lead to acquiring his host body and awesome powers. Of course he needed to ensure that Gordon Freeman survived or else he’d never be able to get his host body, which is why you constantly see him throughout HL and HL2.
As for that scene at the end of Half Life, he actually made multiple runs through that, going back in time repeatedly and giving advice to himself until he managed to make the offer in such a way that gordon would accept it. There were multiple cases where Gordon refused, but Gman would just go back in time to alter his speech/inflection slightly until he got the answer he wanted.
So Gman is actually Breen’s Mind + Gordon’s Body + Combine Powers
If there comes a time when valve stops making hl games ( I’d die) then In there last game they would at least make an easter egg telling (or hinting) at who gman is…
Gman is Freemans father D:
He’s actually Gordon from the future, but Valve will never tell us that.
Since when does hair get darker with age? 😉
I don’t think Valve will ever come right out and explain exactly who or what the G-Man is. While it’s true that he certainly has his own ulterior motives, I think it’s easier to think of him as the Rod Serling of the Half-Life world. He opens and closes the episodes and exists as an omniscient narrator apart from the “real world,” guiding the characters toward the whatever ironic ending he wants.
I think it would be a disappointment if we don’t learn the truth behind the gman, unless there is more to the half-life series after ep3. However, it would be an even greater disappointment if valve doesn’t get it right if they reveal the truth.
It was never about him until the second game – it’s good for them to focus on a such iconic character, extend his background, and explain his motives at the same time – but honestly, I don’t want Valve to reveal his secret identity. I know he was originated from CSM from X-Files, but he/and his motives reminds me Mr. X (also a great character), rather than CSM.
He is truly the Government-Man. At least he seems to be working for the government. Firstly, at black mesa, he watches what is going on in the facility. Then, in city 17, he assists gordon in completing an objective: kick breen’s ass. And that is politics. if c17 wasn’t destroyed, another governor would rise. Then, in the later events, he wanted to call all the combine empire to earth to kill them all, showing another miltary strategy. I think we won’t discover his name, or for who he works for, but at least we will know what are his intentions.
I like the father concept though we all know Gman is no other than David Bowie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heathen.jpg
I hope we never really get to know who he is. Just his intentions and reasons. But It’s becoming more apparent on my opinion. That we might to confront him somehow. Since he can probably be the one who called the Advisors to kill Eli or whatever. But I just hate the combine even more because of Eli’s death ;(
All I can say is that if Gman’s story isn’t significantly resolved before HL3, it will be to the detriment of the Half-Life story. Gman’s appearance in HL was really nothing more than a flavor of mystery and intrigue who’s last scene helped make players greatly anticipate the sequel. To stretch this character, who really never contributed much of anything to the story anyway, into six games would be taking things too far, and would bring the Half-Life storyline down to the level of a television series which keeps bringing the same characters back season after season with no resolves or satisfying conclusions. Really, how long can the Gman’s cryptic appearances occur before they become trite and predictable, if they aren’t already?
There is a certain duality here.
Surely his appeal is his mysteriousness. To take away all of that would surely mean the end of his role and his appeal.
However it is impossible to explain his and his employers motives without revealing quite a few truths about the G-man.
It needs either a balance between truth and mystery or a shift in focus from the G-man to perhaps his employers.
It would be better (and arguably more fun) to leave somethings to speculation, but in the end I vote yes we need to learn some truth about the G-man if we are to understand anything about the plot outside just freeing the earth from combine rule.
G’s Man…
Not ally, Neutral.
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I think the most I’d want to know is who his employers are. Anything revealing more about himself ruins it.
I say the G-Man is Gordon himself, from the far, far future, going back to guide his younger self through the correct series of events to get the result he wants: saving the Earth and humanity.
Now, THAT would put your undies in a twist, especially if Valve used it for the story!! Imagine: at the very end, everything resets to the very beginning, with Gordon on his fateful train ride into Black Mesa, running late for work…
The Gman will be revealed when the HL series dies out, as long as the gman is a mystery, the HL series will go on, but if he is, then I am going to be in fear of bad news…
Actually we all know who G-Man is. This character is an inspiration based on the tv serial show “Quantum Leap” character Al Calavicci, a hologram from the present going back into the past to help Dr. Sam Beckett to complete his missions. For I can tell , g-Man is a bad person who takes orders from aliens. In the end Gordon will frame him. I guess!!:)
Like what? He’s a closeted cross dresser with a fat Wagnerian wife with a voice that shatters glass and beats him with in an inch of his life every day when he gets home.. and that’s why he uses/abuses his powers over Freeman because he has none in his own life? That kind of thing?..lol
NO, I don’t think we should ever know….NOT EVER….