On December 10th, 1993, the very first Doom game was released to the public and it was an immediate sensation. The game nailed everything people loved about shooters during the time period, creating a more colorful and action-packed experience when compared to its competition. Gameplay was only one piece of the success; the other part was marketing. From the advertisements to the game's cover, the developers wanted to get players excited to play as the Slayer.
Skip ahead to the era of Doom Eternal and, even after twenty-seven years, players are still stoked to see that green-armored marine laying waste to a sea of demons below him. Players learn more about the semi-silent protagonist a little more after every game. It's still not enough. For each avenue the game opens up, another two questions seem to be asked. As a heads up, there will be some spoilers here as we look at the biographical quandaries regarding the guy.
10 What is his name?
A rare few elite gamers have cleared all of the secrets, unlocked every codex, and figured out how to beat the game on Ultra-Nightmare difficulty. But there is one Doom challenge that will stump them all: What is the Slayer's name?
He's got a few nicknames: The Doom Slayer, Doom Marine, Hellwalker, Unchained Predator, Scourge of Hell, The Beast, Doomguy, DM1-5, Outlander, and Destroyer. That's not the worst of it; he's got two birth names as well. Game developers for the first game saw him as William Joseph "B.J." Blazkowicz III, but in the official books, he's Flynn Taggart. And, of course, the Slayer's not eager to spill the beans.
9 Where Did He Learn To Fight Like That?
This is a good question that demands some consideration. Novices to the Doom series will remember that he was a marine, which is true, but forget that he was an engineer for the marines. His history makes him more qualified to make a cool mod for Doom Eternal than to be the soldier.
At this point, the Slayer has been enhanced, but it was actually his combat prowess prior to his upgrade with the Divinity Machine that made him the candidate. The literature says that he was angered by demons killing his rabbit Daisy when he returned home. Is that really all there is to it?
8 Has He Been Reinstated?
After his first rampage, he was decommissioned from the marines. His channels with them, however, remain open. And he is still referred to as the Doom Marine. Is this out of respect or did the Doomguy actually get his position back?
After what earth has been through, one can say it hardly matters. Yet despite his lone-wolf style of combat, there are other marines and official military personnel out there; it would be nice to know if he could call on them should one of those super hard enemies show up.
7 Is He Alive?
According to modern biological standards, life grows, adapts, responds to stimuli, reproduces, and metabolizes. The Slayer fits all of those categories except for a couple, and that's really something to consider.
Apart from technical science, the Khan Makyr tells the Slayer that he was a mortal "once." Codex entries explain that the Slayer no longer needs food, water, or even to sleep. He's also stopped aging. Players on Nightmare difficulty know it's possible to die, but... was the Slayer even alive?
6 Why Does He Not Speak?
Unlike previous installments, in Doom (2016), the Slayer did not even so much as grunt when getting bludgeoned to death. In Doom Eternal it's back, so the Slayer is capable of at least some inflection when taking on his nightmarish foes.
But in spite of what might be said about the Slayer, he's not actually a silent protagonist. In fact, Doom Eternal shows a flashback in which the character has full-fledged lines. So what happened? Does he not prefer to speak or is he going through something?
5 Why Does His Face Change?
This might sound like it's being very nit-picky about the graphics updates that have humanized his previously pixellated face. Never fear, the updates are appreciated and, up through Doom (2016), it could very well be said that the changes were mostly evolutionary.
But the Slayer actually looks strikingly different in Doom Eternal. His hair has gone from blonde to black and one of the game's great mysteries is that players never find a bottle of hair dye hanging around. Also, his forehead is inhumanly wide; the distance between his eyebrows is increasing drastically.
4 Has He Already Won?
There might be a reason that new enemies seem to be on the horizon after the events of The Ancient Gods: Part 1. The Slayer has an ability called "Destruction Empowerment" which grants him the strength of everything he kills.
The Scriptures of the demons note that the Slayer has already killed the Titan, the strongest champion they had ever known. After that, he barely has the need for any of his hilariously powerful weapons anymore.
3 Who Made His Suit?
Now this is a debate for the ages. The first answer seems like it should be simple; reading the game materials states that the Praetor Suit was given to him while he was in stasis by an entity called "The Wretch."
But the armor has all kinds of make and model numbers on it, like it had been manufactured by one, or even several, military groups specifically for the Slayer. But who would have done it? And why did the demons guarding the Slayer's body allow it to be placed with him?
2 Does He Take Leisure Time?
All work and no play might work for some people, but is the Slayer one of those people? After spending an unknown amount of time in the Fortress of Doom, he's clearly been hard at work replacing his Praetor suit and using his engineering abilities.
But a careful look shows that he owns at least two books, one is about Daisy (sorry about the sad ending) and a biography about a potential alias, Flynn Taggart. He's also got some comics scattered around and a paperweight. But it's hard to tell if these are more Easter eggs for the player of if the Slayer is actually into reading this stuff.
1 Does He Care Anymore?
Or does he care ever? After losing his beloved Daisy, vengeance seems like a fair enough motivator. Silly as it might seem, killing people's pets is not cool and killing demonic forces is very awesome. But is revenge still the motivator?
The Slayer has made no attempt at all to communicate with humans and in his limited interactions with them, he pushes them aside and ignores them. For a few games, he seemed to at least do some investigative work to help people, but recently it's just all about demon killing.