Get Up and Go: A Killjoys Primer
I'm pretty sure everyone and their dog knows the Killjoys universe inside out by now, but I've seen a couple of comments around various places from people who are new to it wanting to know where to start. I also thought it might be cool to have one post where the basic information could be collected. So I wrote a primer!
I view this as work in progress, given that we haven't had the full story arc from the videos yet, but also because I'm bound to have missed things. So please do comment on any stuff I've left out/got hideously wrong etc.
Get Up and Go: A Killjoys Primer
First and most importantly: the videos for 'Na Na Na' and 'SING'. Though this primer covers a lot of stuff featured in 'em, it will make much more sense if you've watched them.
BATTERY CITY
It's post-apocalyptic California, 2019. The terrain is desert and whatever caused the world to go to hell also brought about acid rain, air pollution and radiation.
Battery City is the main landmark of this verse and it is dominated by a Japanese company called Better Living Industries (also known as BL/ind, BL or BLI). Better Living want to help citizens "get rid of those counter-productive emotions" because "medication makes life better". They run a tight ship, employing an elite police-like force called S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/ to help keep things in line.
In the desert surrounding Battery City live those who don't get along with BLI. The desert is made up of zones, many of which feature surveillance equipment planted by BLI.
THE KILLJOYS
PARTY POISON | FUN GHOUL | JET STAR | KOBRA KID
The Killjoys are a group of zone runners who don't care much for life under the thumb of Better Living. As a result, they are being hunted down by SCARECROW. Party Poison is their leader. You will also see him wearing a giant blue mouse head from time to time. It's a 'rebreather' and presumably is for going out in when the air isn't great to breathe. The Killjoys also all have their own bandannas for this purpose too. Kobra Kid is in possession of some sweet ass karate moves and a powerglove (looks hot, kills dracs), Fun Ghoul appears to be adept at fixing things, and Jet Star is good at being hit on the head with a bottle looking badass.
See also: Party Poison's twitter. Gerard's character sketches (image heavy)
The Killjoys appear to live out of, or at least hang out in, a diner in an unknown zone. The get around via their trusty punked-out Trans Am.
THE LITTLE GIRL
Running with the Killjoys is a character we only know as the Little Girl. She is sometimes referred to as Grace, because that's the name of the actress who plays her, but we've never been given an actual name for her. She's also sometimes made the daughter of Jet Star/Ray based on follicle-related similarities. At one point we see her posting a letter addressed to 'Mom', but we have no idea of her parentage. She appears to be important to both the Killjoys and BLI. The KJs are willing to protect her at all costs and BLI seem interested in having her as a captive.
DR DEATH DEFYING
Dr Death Defying is the DJ of the zones. Like the Killjoys, he is no fan of BLI. He broadcasts updates on situations in the zones and music (including that of 'Mad Gear and the Missile Kid', the band from the bonus EP that came with Danger Days). Dr Death Defying is an wheelchair and like the Little Girl (and everyone else, actually) we have no info of his past.
See also: Dr D's Twitter
SHOW PONY
Show Pony is Dr Death's rollerskating partner in crime. He appears to live with Dr D, but his role is unknown. It's speculated he is a sort of messenger, given the skates. He's there at the end of the 'SING' video firing a raygun, so not just a pretty face.
When we see Dr Death and Show Pony in 'Na Na Na', they appear to be living out of a small house where they broadcast from, but from 'Goodnite, Dr Death' we gather that he (they?) don't stay in any one place for very long because they have to avoid being nabbed by SCARECROW.
KORSE
Korse is an agent of SCARECROW, an employee of BLI, and referred to as 'Chief Exterminator'. His role seems to mostly be rounding up and killing the rebels who oppose BLI. He is helped with these tasks by draculoids. More on them in a second. He appears to have history, or at least some kind of interesting relationship, with the Killjoys. In 'Na Na Na' we see him chasing them through the desert and eventually having a shoot-out with them, but when given the chance to kill them, he instead tells them to 'keep running'. He is less generous later on, however. In 'SING', when the Killjoys storm Battery City, he is the one to shoot Party Poison. That video also shows him standing stationary in a tube until he appears to be 'woken' by Boss Lady (see below) flipping a switch on a remote. On Gerard's character sketch of him there's a note mentioning he should look 'ill'. As with everyone else, much about him is unknown.
DRACULOIDS
Draculoids, or dracs, are the worker bees of SCARECROW and answer to the likes of Korse. They provide fire power on missions but appear to be typically inept at working on their own (in 'Na Na Na' Korse gets so angry with one that he balls up a wanted poster of one of the Killjoys and starts shoving it in its mouth). From the 'SING' video it seems possible that the dracs could be people who have gone through some kind of brainwashing or 'death' and then rebirth. During the fight at the end of the vid, Party Poison pulls a mask off one of them and looks shocked at what he discovers. It seems likely that the person he saw underneath it had some significance to him (more on this theory below, see Agent Cherri Cola).
BLI EMPLOYEES
We don't know much about these guys. Presumably they are exactly the same as the people inside the dracs, but are based within Battery City.
THE BOSS LADY
Boss Lady seems to hold the position of power in the SCARECROW offices and is the one who is responsible for 'waking' Korse via remote. She is also the one standing over kidnapped Little Girl. The two share a cheerful smile before she heads out to put a stop to the Killjoys raid, but whether there's any kind of connection between 'em is of course unknown (I like to think it's a 'when are our badass female selves gonna get some names?' smile though). She has what looks like a katana.
OTHER CHARACTERS OF THE VERSE & DYING IN THE VERSE
Various other characters appear, or have appeared, on Twitter.
Agent Cherri Cola ( Twitter - ACC, ( Twitter - GL)
An enemy of BLI, he tweeted mostly about his encounters in the zones and gruesome methods of killing people. He then appeared to be captured by BLI as twitter was then taken over by them and a link was added to a fresh twitter for one Gary Levko (who is listed as a BLI employee). It's basically confirmed by News A Go Go that they are one and the same person (see below). In the 'SING' video, the Drac that Party Poison pulls the mask off seems to be Gary/Cherri, hence his recognition (Party and Agent Cherri were friends). This is then confirmed by the tweet of fellow BLI employee Bob Fillmore shortly after his report of a 'threat' (the Killjoy's raid) being averted: 'That's strange. garylevko didn't show up for work today.' suggesting it was indeed Gary/Cherri that Party killed.
News A Go Go ( Twitter)
Another enemy of BLI. He had a run-in with them, catalogued on his Twitter ":Trannnssssssmisssssionnn @drrrrrrrdeeeeethdddeeefyinggggg HELPppllLLLppp!!!,.,"
Followed by a couple of tweets advertising the BLI product Power Pup: Power Pup. All rights reserved. Any violation will result in alteration, dislocation, and relocation.
But then he seems to escape: WAIT!WHAT! / We woke up! They were dragging someone in. We got out. Who's out there still? / HO-LY!! @agentcherricola ? Dont tell me! @garylevko is that you? Wake Up!!!
After which his tweets returned to how they were before he was taken by BLI.
Bob Fillmore ( Twitter)
A BLI employee. Customer service representative for the Standard Services department. Battery Towers building A. 57th floor. Cubicle 6.
Tommy Chow Mein ( Twitter)
Someone living in the zones selling property and other items
DJ Hot Chimp ( Twitter)
Another desert DJ, presumably. Not much to know about him.
MORE ON DEATHS AND DYING
- Gerard says: "Killjoys never die"
- Party Poison is asked on Twitter: "how long have you known DrDeathDefying?" and replies: "All my 2nd life."
- Jet Star and the Kobra Kid are reported dead by Dr Death Defying during 'Jet Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report' yet obviously also 'die' in the 'SING' video. This could suggest at least one of the sets of deaths wasn't permanent.
- More theories on dying in the comments.
MORE ON BL/ind
BLI put out a huge variety of products. Their vending machines dispense H20, ray guns, batteries, ammo and Power Pup and can be hacked using a handheld 'Vend-o-Hack' device. They also have website on the 'inner internet' where you can read the latest zone report or look up stuff to buy. Last but not least they have a YouTube channel where you can watch their ad for Better Living medication, get your thoughts adjusted or catch an episode of Fact News.
LINKS
A Guide to Verse Terminology: here (inc locations & tech)
And Another Guide: here
Killjoys Mystery: The Index: here (a huge amount of information for the verse gathered from all kinds of different sources, plus theories and discussion)
The Dead Pegasus Website: here (DP are the chain of gas stations in the verse)
The Killjoys Kink Meme: here
An MCR Primer: here
HQ dowload and caps of SING: here
HQ dowload and caps of 'Na Na Na': here
If there's gaps here that you can fill or stuff you think should be on here, please say and I will amend/add as necessary. SING caps used in this primer were taken from here
I view this as work in progress, given that we haven't had the full story arc from the videos yet, but also because I'm bound to have missed things. So please do comment on any stuff I've left out/got hideously wrong etc.
Get Up and Go: A Killjoys Primer
First and most importantly: the videos for 'Na Na Na' and 'SING'. Though this primer covers a lot of stuff featured in 'em, it will make much more sense if you've watched them.
BATTERY CITY
It's post-apocalyptic California, 2019. The terrain is desert and whatever caused the world to go to hell also brought about acid rain, air pollution and radiation.
Battery City is the main landmark of this verse and it is dominated by a Japanese company called Better Living Industries (also known as BL/ind, BL or BLI). Better Living want to help citizens "get rid of those counter-productive emotions" because "medication makes life better". They run a tight ship, employing an elite police-like force called S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/ to help keep things in line.
In the desert surrounding Battery City live those who don't get along with BLI. The desert is made up of zones, many of which feature surveillance equipment planted by BLI.
THE KILLJOYS
PARTY POISON | FUN GHOUL | JET STAR | KOBRA KID
The Killjoys are a group of zone runners who don't care much for life under the thumb of Better Living. As a result, they are being hunted down by SCARECROW. Party Poison is their leader. You will also see him wearing a giant blue mouse head from time to time. It's a 'rebreather' and presumably is for going out in when the air isn't great to breathe. The Killjoys also all have their own bandannas for this purpose too. Kobra Kid is in possession of some sweet ass karate moves and a powerglove (looks hot, kills dracs), Fun Ghoul appears to be adept at fixing things, and Jet Star is good at being hit on the head with a bottle looking badass.
See also: Party Poison's twitter. Gerard's character sketches (image heavy)
The Killjoys appear to live out of, or at least hang out in, a diner in an unknown zone. The get around via their trusty punked-out Trans Am.
THE LITTLE GIRL
Running with the Killjoys is a character we only know as the Little Girl. She is sometimes referred to as Grace, because that's the name of the actress who plays her, but we've never been given an actual name for her. She's also sometimes made the daughter of Jet Star/Ray based on follicle-related similarities. At one point we see her posting a letter addressed to 'Mom', but we have no idea of her parentage. She appears to be important to both the Killjoys and BLI. The KJs are willing to protect her at all costs and BLI seem interested in having her as a captive.
DR DEATH DEFYING
Dr Death Defying is the DJ of the zones. Like the Killjoys, he is no fan of BLI. He broadcasts updates on situations in the zones and music (including that of 'Mad Gear and the Missile Kid', the band from the bonus EP that came with Danger Days). Dr Death Defying is an wheelchair and like the Little Girl (and everyone else, actually) we have no info of his past.
See also: Dr D's Twitter
SHOW PONY
Show Pony is Dr Death's rollerskating partner in crime. He appears to live with Dr D, but his role is unknown. It's speculated he is a sort of messenger, given the skates. He's there at the end of the 'SING' video firing a raygun, so not just a pretty face.
When we see Dr Death and Show Pony in 'Na Na Na', they appear to be living out of a small house where they broadcast from, but from 'Goodnite, Dr Death' we gather that he (they?) don't stay in any one place for very long because they have to avoid being nabbed by SCARECROW.
KORSE
Korse is an agent of SCARECROW, an employee of BLI, and referred to as 'Chief Exterminator'. His role seems to mostly be rounding up and killing the rebels who oppose BLI. He is helped with these tasks by draculoids. More on them in a second. He appears to have history, or at least some kind of interesting relationship, with the Killjoys. In 'Na Na Na' we see him chasing them through the desert and eventually having a shoot-out with them, but when given the chance to kill them, he instead tells them to 'keep running'. He is less generous later on, however. In 'SING', when the Killjoys storm Battery City, he is the one to shoot Party Poison. That video also shows him standing stationary in a tube until he appears to be 'woken' by Boss Lady (see below) flipping a switch on a remote. On Gerard's character sketch of him there's a note mentioning he should look 'ill'. As with everyone else, much about him is unknown.
DRACULOIDS
Draculoids, or dracs, are the worker bees of SCARECROW and answer to the likes of Korse. They provide fire power on missions but appear to be typically inept at working on their own (in 'Na Na Na' Korse gets so angry with one that he balls up a wanted poster of one of the Killjoys and starts shoving it in its mouth). From the 'SING' video it seems possible that the dracs could be people who have gone through some kind of brainwashing or 'death' and then rebirth. During the fight at the end of the vid, Party Poison pulls a mask off one of them and looks shocked at what he discovers. It seems likely that the person he saw underneath it had some significance to him (more on this theory below, see Agent Cherri Cola).
BLI EMPLOYEES
We don't know much about these guys. Presumably they are exactly the same as the people inside the dracs, but are based within Battery City.
THE BOSS LADY
Boss Lady seems to hold the position of power in the SCARECROW offices and is the one who is responsible for 'waking' Korse via remote. She is also the one standing over kidnapped Little Girl. The two share a cheerful smile before she heads out to put a stop to the Killjoys raid, but whether there's any kind of connection between 'em is of course unknown (I like to think it's a 'when are our badass female selves gonna get some names?' smile though). She has what looks like a katana.
OTHER CHARACTERS OF THE VERSE & DYING IN THE VERSE
Various other characters appear, or have appeared, on Twitter.
Agent Cherri Cola ( Twitter - ACC, ( Twitter - GL)
An enemy of BLI, he tweeted mostly about his encounters in the zones and gruesome methods of killing people. He then appeared to be captured by BLI as twitter was then taken over by them and a link was added to a fresh twitter for one Gary Levko (who is listed as a BLI employee). It's basically confirmed by News A Go Go that they are one and the same person (see below). In the 'SING' video, the Drac that Party Poison pulls the mask off seems to be Gary/Cherri, hence his recognition (Party and Agent Cherri were friends). This is then confirmed by the tweet of fellow BLI employee Bob Fillmore shortly after his report of a 'threat' (the Killjoy's raid) being averted: 'That's strange. garylevko didn't show up for work today.' suggesting it was indeed Gary/Cherri that Party killed.
News A Go Go ( Twitter)
Another enemy of BLI. He had a run-in with them, catalogued on his Twitter ":Trannnssssssmisssssionnn @drrrrrrrdeeeeethdddeeefyinggggg HELPppllLLLppp!!!,.,"
Followed by a couple of tweets advertising the BLI product Power Pup: Power Pup. All rights reserved. Any violation will result in alteration, dislocation, and relocation.
But then he seems to escape: WAIT!WHAT! / We woke up! They were dragging someone in. We got out. Who's out there still? / HO-LY!! @agentcherricola ? Dont tell me! @garylevko is that you? Wake Up!!!
After which his tweets returned to how they were before he was taken by BLI.
Bob Fillmore ( Twitter)
A BLI employee. Customer service representative for the Standard Services department. Battery Towers building A. 57th floor. Cubicle 6.
Tommy Chow Mein ( Twitter)
Someone living in the zones selling property and other items
DJ Hot Chimp ( Twitter)
Another desert DJ, presumably. Not much to know about him.
MORE ON DEATHS AND DYING
- Gerard says: "Killjoys never die"
- Party Poison is asked on Twitter: "how long have you known DrDeathDefying?" and replies: "All my 2nd life."
- Jet Star and the Kobra Kid are reported dead by Dr Death Defying during 'Jet Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report' yet obviously also 'die' in the 'SING' video. This could suggest at least one of the sets of deaths wasn't permanent.
- More theories on dying in the comments.
MORE ON BL/ind
BLI put out a huge variety of products. Their vending machines dispense H20, ray guns, batteries, ammo and Power Pup and can be hacked using a handheld 'Vend-o-Hack' device. They also have website on the 'inner internet' where you can read the latest zone report or look up stuff to buy. Last but not least they have a YouTube channel where you can watch their ad for Better Living medication, get your thoughts adjusted or catch an episode of Fact News.
LINKS
A Guide to Verse Terminology: here (inc locations & tech)
And Another Guide: here
Killjoys Mystery: The Index: here (a huge amount of information for the verse gathered from all kinds of different sources, plus theories and discussion)
The Dead Pegasus Website: here (DP are the chain of gas stations in the verse)
The Killjoys Kink Meme: here
An MCR Primer: here
HQ dowload and caps of SING: here
HQ dowload and caps of 'Na Na Na': here
If there's gaps here that you can fill or stuff you think should be on here, please say and I will amend/add as necessary. SING caps used in this primer were taken from here