John Torque

John Torque
John Torque as he appears in Vigilante 8: Arcade
Name:	John Torque
Age:	32
Appearances:	Vigilante 8 Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense Vigilante 8: Arcade
Vehicle:	V8: Jefferson V8: 2nd Offense: Thunderbolt V8: Arcade: Jefferson
Special Weapon:	V8: Bass Quake V8: 2nd Offense: Wheel O' Fortune V8: Arcade: Bass Quake
Alignment:	Vigilante

John Torque is a fictional character in the vehicle action series Vigilante 8.

Overview

John Torque was a down on his luck gambler that owed money to some shady people. His reasons for joining the Vigilantes is a mystery, but Sid Burn was a nationally wanted terrorist and gang boss, so the reward money was most likely the reason. Despite this being the case, it never damaged his friendship with Convoy.

John Torque as he appears in V8: 2nd Offense.

Prior to the events of Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense, John Torque had eliminated Sid Burn and used his money to buy a new vehicle, a new wardrobe, and also used a few of them for gambling. Bored out of himself without the thrill of fighting the Coyotes, John Torque soon became a bounty hunter and decided to track down a notorious weapon smuggler named Nina Loco, who turned out to be an old flame of Sid's. While on Loco's trail, Torque decided to pay a visit to his old mentor, and was really devastated that both Convoy and Houston suddenly went missing, and their place destroyed. Torque immediately grabbed a few machine guns from Convoy's backyard and was about to search for them.

Endings

John Torque staring at his reward money in his Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense ending.

In his V8 ending, Torque grabs Sid Burn's briefcase full of money to gamble at a roadside casino. He also has a humiliated Sid Burn gagged in the trunk of his vehicle with ropes and duct tape as he goes to which is obviously Vegas.

In his V8: 2nd Offense ending, he finally catches Nina Loco and heads to the nearest jailhouse to collect reward money. He opens his trunk, which shows Nina tied up, but soon Torque has a change of heart. And after this, he and Nina drive off together, the two falling in love with each other.

In his V8: Arcade ending, John Torque defeats Boogie and uses his money to (presumably) gamble in Vegas.

Vehicles & Statistics

The Jefferson, as it appears in Vigilante 8

In V8, John drove the 1969 Jefferson, a white pimp-mobile that was decently armored and had moderate speed.

Top Speed:	IIIIIIIIIIII
Armor:	IIIIIIIIIIIII
Avoidance:	IIIIIIIIII

The Thunderbolt, as it appears in Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense

In V8: 2nd Offense, he traded the Jefferson for the Thunderbolt, a Pontiac Firebird-like car that wasn't as well armored as the Jefferson, but was faster.

Acceleration:	IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Top Speed:	IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Armor:	IIIIIIII
Avoidance:	IIIII

The Jefferson, as it appears in Vigilante 8: Arcade.

In Vigilante 8: Arcade, John Torque returns in the 1974 Jefferson, a slightly different style from its 1969 counterpart with a rusty-white paint job. It also has good radar evasion, but low strength.

Strength:	Low
Acceleration:	Average
Top Speed:	Average
Radar Evasion:	Good

Special Weapons

In V8 and V8: Arcade, John's Special Weapon was the Bass Quake, a giant stereo mounted on the trunk that sent out a damaging shockwave that caused all nearby environment to tremble.

In V8: 2nd Offense, John's Special Weapon was the Wheel o' Fortune, a revolver like weapon that did moderate to high damage, depending on if the shot was supercharged (this happens randomly).

Trivia

• In Vigilante 8: Arcade, it's stated that John Torque's favorite car accessory is double deck poker cards.
• According to an article on IGN, John Torque is considered an example of positive influence on African-American culture.
• John Torque's character is based on Richard Roundtree's original Black action hero, John Shaft. The line "shut your mouth", heard in the main theme song of the game, is a reference to the main theme of the movie Shaft, in which the eponymous character stars in.
• For unknown reasons in certain versions of the game, both the stock and fully upgraded Thunderbolt in 2nd Offense will retain their rear window louvers while other versions of the game have a normal rear window present.
• The stock Thunderbolt in all versions of 2nd Offense is missing its hood decal featured in its concept art, but the decal is present on all versions of its fully upgraded counterpart.

Quotes

Vigilante 8:

• "You ready to roll the dice, bro!"
• "Bassquake!"
• "Deuce!"
• "You gambled and you lost, the house wins!"
• "Somebody's dealing dirty cards! Shoot man, I should have bet on red!"

2nd Offense:

• "The cards have been dealt!"
• "Your luck's about to change!"
• "Always bet on black!"
• "Place your bet!"
• "Snake eyes!"
• "This ain't bingo, chump."
• "You should learn when to fold!"
• "The odds were against you, fool!"
• "Easy come, easy go."
• "I won't be taking that to the bank."
• "Shoot! This has got to be fixed!"

Arcade:

• "Ah yeah, place your bets, scumbags!"
• "Torque's the name and action's the game!"
• "Hmm, time to double down, brother!"
• "Bass Quake!"
• "Augh! (Cough)"
• "Augh! Come on! Tilt!"
• "Ka-ching! Haha!"
• "Yeah! Crank it up!"
• "Haha! Luck of the draw, my man!"
• "Yeah, huh, game over."