The Agency Against Hank Wimbleton is the main antagonistic faction of the Madness Combat series. It is an organization of soldiers founded and led by the Auditor whose immediate goal is to eliminate Hank J. Wimbleton, and later on, anyone else who the Auditor saw as a threat, such as Sanford, Deimos, Jesus, and 2BDamned.
The A.A.H.W. began as Grunts, pathetically unprepared troops who also serve as the basic designs for almost every other character. Grunts were eventually outclassed by other troops that were introduced over the course of the series, most notably the 1337 Agents, who replaced Grunts as the primary cannon fodder by Madness Combat 5: Depredation. Even more variations were developed by the Accelerated Training Program, which birthed the A.T.P. Engineers and A.T.P. Soldats.
The series has repeatedly shown that the working conditions of the A.A.H.W are extremely poor. The Auditor has murdered his own men simply out of frustration, and has "enhanced" several of them, which seems to completely eliminate their already limited free wills. Dissenters are brutalized and strung about their facilities to threaten members into subservience, and every unnamed member of the A.A.H.W is little more than a martyr. It's also been shown that members are also stationed within the Other Place, though it's ambiguous if they simply occupy it or are actually deceased themselves, as several of them appear to be losing their skin, which might be their S-3LF's being assimilated into the Other Place.
It is also implied that A.A.H.W members are very loyal to superiors, sometimes to a fault (and their detriment), and often follow orders without question or second thought. This was used against them in DISSENTER, where 2BDamned countered their blind obedience by tricking an A.T.P, Soldat into shooting a door with nearby agents with a rocket launcher. It is possible that this only applies to A.T.P. Soldats, given that 2BDamned hacked the Soldat's terminal database, which also implies that they're modified directly to be extremely obedient.
Two of the series' main characters, Jesus and Tricky, had been associated with the A.A.H.W for many of the early episodes. Jesus served as the Sheriff's personal bodyguard in Madness Combat 2: Redeemer and Madness Combat 3: Avenger, and was frequently seen resurrecting troops killed by Hank. At the end of Madness Combat 7: Consternation, Jesus defected from the Agency, seeking to "end the madness" by killing the Auditor and destroying the Improbability Drives. Tricky betrayed the A.A.H.W in Madness Combat 6.5 after he grew tired of taking orders, although Jesus killed him before the A.A.H.W could. However, despite Tricky being an enemy of A.A.H.W, he has only ever killed a Retainer, as we see in episode 9.5 and accidentialy one Agent in Madness Combat 5. In episode 7 and episode 11, the standard A.A.H.W units don't care about Clown, as all their efforts are focused on destroying Hank, apparently they even see him as an ally in destroying Hank, but that's not a fact after all, the deaths of A.A.H.W. units at the hands of Tricky have been seen in non-canon animations, namely in incidents.
Madness: Project Nexus (Classic)[]
In the game, the A.A.H.W fighters were a replacement for the NEXUS Core, and the A.A.H.W sprites were used for the alternate NEXUS Core, as the plot was not well developed at the time; in other words, all those Agents, ATP soldat, ATP engineers and G0L3M we fight in the game were all members of the NEXUS Core, having nothing to do with A.A.H.W
In MADNESS: Project Nexus 2, this was corrected: A.A.H.W and NEXUS Core became separate factions, cold to each other, bound only by trade and living together in Nevada for mutual benefit. At the end of the game, NEXUS Core warns A.A.H.W of Hank's position in hopes that the Agency can prevent him from destroying them, but this proves futile, A.A.H.W only delaying NEXUS Core's imminent downfall.
A screen that shows the different unit ranks.
Concept art for the A.A.H.W. units in MADNESS: Project Nexus
Grunt[]
A.A.H.W Grunts are plain characters wearing grey smocks, and look the same as most other Nevadeans. These are usually either freshly recruited agents who have lackluster fighting skills, or what newly-made clones look like before they can be given a more specialized purpose. Since Madness Combat 5: Depredation, their presence in the series began to greatly decrease, and they were eventually replaced by Agents as the series main canon-fodder units.
Agent[]
1337 Agents, also known as l33t Agents, are soldiers dressed in business suits and shades, and are one rank higher than Grunts, as in Madness Combat 4: Apotheosis, one is seen given orders to grunts. In their first appearances, they were often armed with Desert Eagles; however, since Madness Combat 7: Consternation they began using a larger variety of firearms and melee weapons. They don't fare much better than grunts in combat against the series main characters, but they are shown to be generally much braver, rarely cowering out. One peculiar characteristic of agents is that, once zombified, they seem to maintain a higher degree of self-control than zombified grunts, being able to utilize weaponry and being commanded by Jesus; however the reason for this is unknown.
A.T.P. Engineer[]
A.T.P. Engineers are one of the two types of units created by the Accelerated Training Program. Unlike their sister units, the Soldats, Engineers are not specialized for combat, instead being designed with superior intellect and knowledge about technological repair and invention. This does allow them more creativity during combat however, attempting more advanced tactics than common agents, such as ambushes, taking cover and even deceiving tactics. They wear asymmetrical removable masks with yellow-visors, suits, and have yellow blood as a result of undergoing the A.T.P.
A.T.P. Soldat[]
A.T.P. Soldats are one of the two types of units created by the Accelerated Training Program. They specialize in combat, being much more agile and acrobatic than agents or A.T.P. engineers, as well as possessing quicker reflexes, which make them more durable foes against even extremely combat prowess individuals like Hank. The A.T.P. gave them singular eyepieces worn on the right side of their heads, they wear belts over their suits and have yellow blood. Supposedly they have ceased production after Madness Combat 7.5, when Sanford and Deimos destroyed a Soldat production facility; though this was likely only one of many, since Soldats have appeared in other episodes past Madness 7.5.
Scientist[]
Scientists, also known as lab geeks, are neutral NPCs that are featured in Episode 1.5 of Madness: Project Nexus (Classic), MADNESS: Project Nexus and in the short An Experiment. They wear white lab coats, varying glasses, and sometimes a SARS guard. They are neutral, so they will not attack unless infected into a zombie. In order to ward off zombies, scientists will sometimes use clipboards, test tube racks, scalpels, and brooms as weapons.
A.A.H.W Scientist is doing science and research for the Agency, in the A.A.H.W laboratories. The scientist wears goggles on his head and walks around in a dark gray suit, which is different from the scientists' standard White coat appears warmer.
Retainer[]
Larger than average units who patrol Hell itself to keep the deceased trapped inside, Retainers are one of the most deadly units in the A.A.H.W.'s arsenal. They appear to be located specifically within the Other Place, attempting to keep the souls of the A.A.H.W.'s enemies trapped within so they cannot be resurrected. They have wires surgically inserted into their heads, which attach to the metal masks on their faces. They have a variety of psychic powers, and are able to fly, teleport, and possess telekinesis.
Half Mags[]
Introduced in MADNESS: Project Nexus, Half Mags are Agents who have been only partially magnified, and stand roughly the same height as a G03LM. They resemble Agents, wearing suits and glasses, but they have defined facial scarring. They behave similarly to G03LMs, lumbering around and becoming stunned after doing a frenzied attack. They will occasionally charge up a punch that launches them forward and ragdolls and does massive damage to anyone it hits, also potentially sending them airborne.
Retainers are an elite form of Half Mag that was introduced in Madness Combat 9.5 and are the wardens of The Other Place, not much is known but it's implied 908 of them exist and instead of dying they "reactivate", they have the ability to slow down time and pull spiked rocks from the ground.
The A.A.H.W. units seen toward the end of Dedmos Adventure have all been scaled up to the size of Half Mags by the power of The Other Place. At least one of these scaled-up Agents appears in teaser images for Madness Combat 12. In both episodes these scaled-up units sometimes feature rocks jutting from their flesh.
Mag Agent[]
The largest units the A.A.H.W. have, Mag Agents are Generation-04 Nevadeans that stand roughly four times as tall as a normal character. Their gargantuan size gives them very high damage resistance and a physicality that trumps even G03LMs. Their appearances vary greatly because of the fact that they need to be individually built rather than cloned, but they consistently have long, claw-like fingernails and weapons that are scaled to fit their size.
The canon animation series has only shown four variations of Mag Agents: One in Madness Combat 7: Consternation, who resembles a 1337 Agent with stakes impaled into his head in an X pattern; two identical ones in Madness Combat 8: Inundation, who are the Auditor's bodyguards and wear masks with a single row of fang-like teeth; one in Madness Combat 9: Aggregation who was supposedly a beta type and wore a duck-like rebreater and distinctly lacked a facial cross; and two more identical ones in Madness Combat 10: Abrogation who wear red visors.
A fifth A.A.H.W Mag Agent appears in the non-canon animation Incident: 110A who wore a full suit of bulletproof armor and a pair of goggles, and MADNESS: Project Nexus featured several Mag Agents that seem to be mass-produced, each wearing an identical mask with tubing and a black visor.
Elite Bodyguard[]
Elite Bodyguards or simply just Bodyguards are the special version of Grunts and are the precursors of 1337 Agents. They have the same appearance as Grunts (grey smocks and dark grey shoes) but they wear grey sunglasses and are equipped with earpieces (though they are not visible). As their name implies their purpose is to bodyguard an important Nevadean. They appear to have quicker reflexes than regular Grunts, though their combat skills beyond that are unknown. These units only appeared in one episode - Madness Combat 3: Avenger, where they protected the Sheriff. They didn't appear later on, likely due to Agents taking up their role.
Welder[]
The Welder, a Grunt who wears a welding mask and uses a Plasma cutter, appears in the second episode of Madness Combat when Hank enters the elevator to go to the next floor, but two Grunts jump onto the roof of the elevator, one of which is the Welder, he hides his face under his mask, to then turn on the Plasma cutter and make a hole in the roof for the other Grunts to get to Hank, but Hank immediately sees and shoots him, leaving a hole in his mask, shooting him in the chest and head, and his corpse falls into the elevator to Hank.
G0L3M's[]
The G03LM (Standing for Generation-03, Limited Model) is a special enemy type appearing in Madness: Project Nexus (Classic) and its sequel, MADNESS: Project Nexus. They have slightly pale skin, with a darker body compared to that of a grunt, and both their head and body are covered with stitches and scars (reminiscent of Frankenstein's Monster, which is fitting given their origins). Their most notable features are their gaping mouth and yellow teeth, and their orange blood.
In Madness: Project Nexus (Classic), G0L3Ms are not part of A.A.H.W, but is merely in alliance with the agency's fighters, who act as a replacement for the NEXUS Core
In Madness:Project NEXUS 2: GOL3M are marked in the game as part of the NEXUS Core faction, which is logical, since it is NEXUS Core that produces them, and it is in the missions dedicated to NEXUS Core that they appear most often, but in the second game they also appear in alliance with A.A.H.W except that we meet them in the virtual bed of sleepwalkers in Arena mode where they appear as bosses before each new wave of A.A.H.W fighters attacking the player.
In Madness: Project Nexus it's not known if the Agency, has their own G0L3Ms, but if they do, it wouldn't make sense to use them in “Hank Hunt” since they're literally only designed to guard any facilities, so they're probably just sitting around guarding A.A.H.W bases. (But that's just a guess based on the fact that Phobos sold G0L3M all over Nevada and pretty much every faction in the game has them).
Madness:Project NEXUS (2)[]
The Escape[]
A.A.H.W. appear as the very first enemy in the game's storyline in the mission ''The Escape'' where they give chase to the main characters (Hank, Sanford, Deimos), the chase ends with the main characters crashing, after Hank reaches the junkyard destroying the Bandits along the way, A.A.H.W Agency catches up with him and attacks him, in the process getting into a scuffle with the local Bandits, when Hank is done with the small units of the Agency and the Bandits, he is surrounded and ambushed by A.A.H.W.
Power Play[]
Mission ''Power Play'', the Agency, after being defeated at the junkyard, did not finish their job of destroying Hank, they take revenge by establishing a foothold in the Power Plant where Hank was located, after Hank cut the power and was about to leave, the Agency catches up with him, after which Hank begins to mop up the Agents throughout the Power Plant until he reaches the power plant.
Climb![]
In the “Climb!” mission. The Agency receives intel from NEXUS Core about Hank's location, and as soon as the NEXUS Core units start calling for help from A.A.H.W they show up screaming that they are only after Hank, showing how obsessed they are with their mission to destroy Hank once and for all! It's worth noting that the developers did a good job of showing us A.A.H.W in all its glory! They pursued Hank and Sanford relentlessly while NEXUS Core whined about it, the Agency persistently pursued the protagonists, launching MAG-agents into action, presiding over helipads, smashing windows in the Science Tower, ambushing them by jumping out of vents, these guys couldn't be broken, even though they died like flies on Hank's pipe.
Arena mode:[]
In Arena mode, the Agency appears in the “Fast Track” mission. There are four different layout in this arena. The first cart consists of a room where the A.A.H.W. hang out. There's a ladder in the room that allow the player to access the roof. It also has various openings with caution tape surrounding them on the roof. The second cart is out in the open and has cargo on it. The third room is a closed-ended room that carries the A.A.H.W's luggage. This room is the easiest for your allies to get cornered in. The last room has a ladder you can use to climb to the top. Inside the room are various upward walkways that enemies will constantly walk down.
Sleepwalker Training - The layout of Sleepwalker Training is effectively an exact replica of the arena that Madness: Project Nexus (Classic)'s Arena Combat took place in. The whole room is one large rectangle with nothing in it, exception of two grey barrels to take cover behind. The room features five visible doors, none of which are able to be used except for the center one which is labeled "armory", although it is only used upon entering Sleepwalker Training. Enemies spawn from the other doors. The room also has two windows where Nexus Core Scientists, Engineers, and Soldats watch through. For the first few waves, the enemies of Sleepwalker Training consist purely of VR Training Buddies. Members of the A.A.H.W. and G03LMs take over upon completing wave four, beginning as Grunts and Agents but advancing to have Engineers and Soldats as the Player gets into the further waves. More G03LMs will also spawn as progress is made.
A.A.H.W in the universe of the game MADNESS:Project NEXUS, although not the strongest faction, but still the most widespread army in Nevada, their control and numbers in Nevada is one of the highest, the Agency has its own huge train, the Agency propaganda posters are literally in all cities and there are a lot of them, they have their own system of creating soldiers and engineers ATP, they are able to produce their own MAG, all this thanks to the powerful leader Auditor! For before his arrival, the Agency started out as a pathetic organization that broke away from NEXUS core (if you believe the old concept art of the Agents) with private funding, the Agency also went into debt because they often bought clones from NEXUS Core.
In the game, it was shown that the Agency has at its disposal a variety of vehicles: Cars, HMMWVs, helicopters, trucks, motorcycles, all of which the Agency used to hunt for Hank and his allies, as well as the Agency has its own train.
In the game, it was shown that A.A.H.W Agents. have access to communications with the rest of the Agency, they also request reinforcements through communications and report the situation they are in, although the Agents, ATP Engineers and ATP Soldats don't wear walkie-talkies and large headphones like their NEXUS Core counterparts, but they clearly have them, it's probably 1 small earpiece with a microphone in one ear (although the MADNESS COMBAT characters aren't shown with ears, it doesn't stop them from wearing different kinds of headphones and other things).
Trivia[]
- If the A.A.H.W were to permanently terminate Hank, they would probably throw a pizza party, as told by Krinkels.
- According to Krinkels, The A.A.H.W came out of a need to oppose Hank's existence. Rather than being a creation of the Nexus core. (In the end, thanks to the Auditor, they become more than just hunters for Hank, they become a huge new power in Nevada)
- Agents lack the ability to feign death because, as stated by Krinkels, "that requires both a strong survival instinct as well as cleverness they just don't have."
- Krinkels does have plans to add more units to the A.A.H.W, as the main line up only has four.
- This eventually happened in Madness Combat 9.5 and MADNESS: Project Nexus with the Retainers and Half Mags, respectively.
- While loading a level in the game you may see a mention that the A.A.H.W has no judgments in NEXUS City, due to unfulfilled contracts...
- A.A.H.W. and NEXUS Core produce their MAGs in very different ways: For NEXUS Core, quality is most important, so their MAGs are very long and expensive to make from scratch, starting with the exoskeleton and ending with the implantation of intelligence and their flesh. A.A.H.W has it much simpler: they throw pre-made Grunts into a special technique that enlarges them several times over, most likely the same way Half-Mags are produced in the game.
- A.A.H.W. - Is basically a PMC that cooperates and buys weapons from NEXUS Core to get rid of Hank, after which their raison d'etre will be exhausted, but if you read all their posters from the animated series you will realize that they have become more than just an Agency to catch Hank, they're creating their own sort of state in Nevada for business and to increase their power and the power of the Auditor in Nevada, that's pretty much been shown in the show itself, and confirmed by Krinkels words about their desire to control and take over everything.
- Old concept art shows that A.A.H.W. Agents were splinter faction from NEXUS forces, were well equiped and had private funding. In the final game, the A.A.H.W. does have access to some decent weaponry, as shown in The Escape, where they are seen with iron swords, CP5s and NS-19s, but can still be deployed with weak melee weapons, cheap revolvers and sometimes with no weapons at all.
- The animation showed the Agents taking bribes from Grunts to sit on their bases. One of these Grunts is killed in a rage by the Auditor, knocking over the money table and chasing the Agents away so they can finally get to work.
- In M:PN2 (BETA) A.A.H.W. units are shown to be stronger and more skillful fighters compared to the release version of the game, the faction is unfairly weakened for the sake of making it easier for newcomers to play the game
Gallery[]
Animations[]
Madness: Project Nexus (Classic)[]
MADNESS: Project Nexus 2[]
Misc[]
| Main characters |
Hank · Sanford · Deimos · 2BDamned | |
| A.A.H.W. units |
Grunt (Rich · Scrapeface) · Elite bodyguard · Agent · A.T.P. Engineer · A.T.P. Soldat | |
| Other characters |
Civilian (Boombox man · Dancing man · Marshmallow ride owner · Hot dog vendor) · Demon · FellowD9 · Higher Powers · Saucy · Dancing man (Leisurely Ragtime) · The Sun · Mustached character · Mustached star · Cybercriminals | |
| Project Nexus characters | Main characters | Dr. Christoff · Dr. Hofnarr Phobos |
| Nexus units | G03LM · Mag Agent: N Scientist · Riot guard · Abomination · Sleepwalker patient · Mag Agent: Gestalt | |
| Arena Combat characters | Subject 1v02P 6 Krinkels · Cheshyre · The-Swain · Luis | |