Sam and Max 2010: Ribs' Theorum

'Sam and Max 2010' Theories - Notes

December 8th, 2009. A cold winter day as the Telltale Games forum is buzzing with excitement. The final episode of the critically acclaimed Tales of Monkey Island is about to be released, but little did they know the surprise they would recieve at the end of the credits; A link. What was so special about this small link? It confirmed the existance of the return of the canine detective and hyper rabbity-thing; it confirmed the return of Sam and Max.

That link, that oh-so-unexpected link, was to http://www.samandmax2010.com/. That site redirects back to Telltale Games' website, but to a special page: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax2010. On that side, a mysterious narrator proclaims many things. This writer shall refer to the narrator as 'Shadowman' due to the source code referring to an audioclip with that name printed on it. The narrator proclaims:

"In all the universe, the only power behind the mind's comprehension is the power to comprehend the power of the mind. If any one of us could unlock this terrible power, would we use it to explore the mysteries of infinite, or would we use it to destroy?"

Fans of Sam and Max everywhere are trying to interpret exactly what this means. I, however, have narrowed it down to this: to understand the brain; to be able to learn exactly how it works. This is a revelation; perhaps an act of god. Perhaps Sam and Max are going all the way from Hell to Heaven?

Another theory that can be guessed by this is the return of supervillain Hugh Bliss. To understand the brain is to control it, and controlling the brain is controlling one's mind. Mind Control was the overarching plot of Season One, and Hugh Bliss used it to destroy. Perhaps he is back, and Sam and Max are using his own abilities against him?

Wording is key here; 'behind man's comprehension' Sam, Max, Hugh Bliss, the Monster, Jurgen, Satan, the Shambling Corporate Prescense, Sybil, Stinky, The Director, Mr. Featherly, and Abe are all not men. Some aren't human, some are women. Perhaps one of these people unlock the amazing ability Shadowman is referring to.

"It's a familiar tale; a power mad space gorilla pitted against a canine detective and a sociopathic bunny with psychic powers."

This is continuing off of the first of the quotes; a sociopathic bunny with psychic powers does sound a lot like Max, but there is a chance this is not Max, but another sociopathic bunny. This is not likely; but this is the only not obvious hole in the entire quote.

"But, my friends, this story is different. In this story, you are in control. There will soon come a time when you will be called upon to lead Sam and Max to defeat the forces of evil."

Perhaps players will be able to play as a third character, someone the freelance police look up to. You lead them to defeat evil itself; which I believe is actually Shadowman himself. The 'third wheel' situation is less the extremely unlikely, and should not be taken seriously.

"No longer can you blindly mash buttons to unleash a torrent of irreverent banter and comic mischief. Now you are all that stands in the way of the total annihilation of the planet Earth."

Sam and Max are in more trouble than they have ever been. They are literally one witty comment away from Shadowman (or whomever the villain may be) pressing that button, instantly destroying Earth. Perhaps he does; perhaps Shadowman truly does destroy Earth, and Sam and Max have to stop him from destroying the other planets aswell.

Piecing It Together

This is how I believe Sam and Max Season Three will unfold: Sam and Max arrive back at their office, only to find Superball, who was there in What's New Beezlebub according to Chariots of the Dogs. Superball unveils who he works for: Shadowman, the person found in the concept art on Max's left ear. Shadowman doesn't want Sam and Max interfering with his plans, as Shadowman is omnipotent and can see past, present, and future. Shadowman promptly teleports them away to Heaven, the farthest place from Earth he knows of. There, an episode takes place, and 'God' gives Max omnipotent psychic powers. They take a spaceship, modeled after High Priest Max, and embark on a journey across the planets that takes an episode or two. As they arrive at Shadowman's lair, a Power-Mad Space Gorilla defends the base, and sends them back through time. They spend roughly a few puzzles in the 1800s, where Sam gets a mustache, and then embark to Egypt, where they stop the Gorilla from ever existing by locking it's ancestor in it's coffin. They go to show down against Shadowman, and Max sacrifices his godlike powers to forever destroy Shadowman. Unfortunately, Shadowman succeeded, and destroys Earth. Sam and Max stare at the sun as a slow piano ballad plays, ending their saga.

Will this actually happen? Probably not. But, I still managed to form a cohesive story of what it could be from the few clues we have. Until next time, GGG readers.