The story of Twisted Metal

This will contain spoilers for the Twisted Metal series, but nothing that fans of the series don't already know by now. Plus, it's nothing very significant for Twisted Metal: Head-On, as what I'll mention is in the biography of the characters involved.

Also, Twisted Metal 3 and 4 do not factor into this. It has already been stated that 3 and 4 have been completely erased from the official continuity.

With that said, let us begin. Twisted Metal may not seem like it has an overarching story. Especially not one that ties the "normal" series with Black. But I have a theory that is hinted at throughout the games, but never really tied together.

In Twisted Metal 2, when you win the contest as Roadkill, it is revealed that the competition took place within the coma-induced dreams of Roadkill's driver, Marcus Kane. The idea being that Marcus, along with all the other contestants, were involved in a major car accident. (It should probably be noted that Grasshopper's driver, Krista Sparks, who is also Calypso's daughter, was killed in a car accident. Which may or may not be related.)

In Twisted Metal: Black, when you play as Minion, the loading screens will have "encoded" messages. Basically a "number equals letter" encryption. Nothing too complicated. But these messages reveal that Black takes place within the mind of Sweet Tooth's driver, Needles Kane.

Twisted Metal: Head-On reveals that Needles Kane is actually Marcus Kane's split personality. In fact, Marcus is said to have nightmares about competing in Twisted Metal, but it's implied that the nightmare is when Needles takes over and actually competes. Marcus comes to terms with his dark side, and he and Needles sort of join forces, in a sense. I would say they fuse together, but they're always shown as separate entities, despite being split personalities within the same mind.

My theory is as such. The "normal" Twisted Metal competitions take place in Marcus's mind, while the twisted and demented competitions take place in Needles's mind, while Head-On sees a fusion of the two. It's not entirely noticeable in Head-On, until you take note of Calypso. In Marcus's mind, Calypso has long, red hair and handsome looks. In Needles's mind, Calypso is bald, has a deformed left eye, and looks like a psychopathic murderer. In their combined mind (Head-On), Calypso has long, gray hair in a circle around his head, while the top is completely bald. His face looks much like he does in Marcus's mind, but his left eye is deformed like the Calypso in Needles's mind. It's basically a fusion of the two Calypsos.

In Roadkill's ending in Head-On, Marcus claims that the contest is yet another one of his nightmares, and he wants it to end. Which is essentially the same request as in Twisted Metal 2. Calypso grants his wish, and Marcus wakes up in his bed. Which implies that Head-On was also in his head, although that's not for certain.

So that's really my theory how Twisted Metal 1, 2, and Head-On are related to Black. They all take place in the mind of Marcus Kane, only Needles took over and perverted the contest in Black.

Personally, I'm very interested to see how the story evolves in the first Twisted Metal for the PS3. The hidden message in Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition confirms that it's in development. Now that Marcus and Needles have become one, what will happen?