Top 10 Pop Culture References In Twisted Metal

#10: John the Bookworm

One of the strangest, yet funniest ways to kick off Season Two was to show one of the most dangerous milkmen of the Divided States reading a book series meant for tween girls. In a fit of boredom and frustration, John decides to start reading the famed book series “The Baby-Sitters Club”. This was one of the biggest book series to ever be published by Scholastic, having run between 1986 and 2000. And it’s a massive series to read with more than two hundred novels written by several different authors. “The Baby-Sitters Club” still sees reprints and adaptations today, from a movie in 1995 to even a graphic novel series.

#9: The Silver-Haired God

One of the most stand-out moments in “Twisted Metal’s” first few episodes is Sweet Tooth’s bizarre love for R&B music artist Mark Andrews, aka “SisQó”. For the slightly younger crowd, this may not be a music artist you are too familiar with. That’s because SisQó was insanely big at the very start of his career thanks to his fame attained through his time as part of Dru Hill. Once he made his solo debut with “Unleash the Dragon” (the same album John mentions), SisQó became an icon in R&B music. Since those days, the legend has popped up every few years with a new single and a handful of tours, but at the time of this video, his last studio album was released in 2015. Perhaps “Twisted Metal’s” newfound fame will spark some interest in the singer making a new one?

#8: A Band to Grow On

“Twisted Metal” wears its love for 90s and early 2000s music on its sleeve rather unabashedly. Not that we have a problem with it, but we certainly didn’t expect a band like Hanson to crop up. When shuffling through CDs found in a wrecked car, John first discovers the band’s debut and asks Quiet about them, to which she seemingly dismisses the band…sort of. This exchange perfectly captures how people felt about Hanson in the late 90s as “MMMBop” was their biggest hit. And it was so big that it was played religiously on every radio station. It wound up causing many folks to resent both the song and the band, and it didn’t help if you met someone who actually liked the song.

#7: Still Running Through Our Heads Today

Promise this is our last music-related entry for this list, but the shout-out to Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. was one that had us gushing with excitement. You can hear the duo’s most popular song, “All the Things She Said”, blaring during the Convoy’s party. Not only did this song put t.A.T.u. on the map, its themes of lesbianism quickly made it one of the most controversial songs of the time while simultaneously accelerating and amplifying its popularity. Aside from that, the duo would split in 2011 and would eventually get back together in 2022. Today, t.A.T.u. makes special appearances for certain events.

#6: They [Used] to Have Answers

In Agent Stone’s flashback scene, you might have spotted an ancient retail relic known as “RadioShack”. Once upon a time, this was the one-stop shop for appliances and electronics ranging from kitchenware to toys and even video games. After decades of menial growth and facing bankruptcy, RadioShack rose to prominence in the late 90s and early 2000s as it went from being a humble business to a full-on corporation. Alas, the company began to flounder and fade into obscurity as it failed to keep up with the rise of the DIY market and the competition brought on by Best Buy, Amazon, and other retailers catering to online markets and electronics customers. RadioShack still exists today, but it is nowhere near as relevant as it used to be.

#5: Sweet Tooth’s Ode to Kubrick

One of the best episodes from Season One is the fifth episode when Sweet Tooth takes down an entire Lawmen outpost. On his way back to the truck, Sweet Tooth relishes his work while his newfound entourage follows him…with a distressed Stu in tow. But the classical music that plays certainly exudes a bit of a Stanley Kubrick vibe, doesn’t it? Well, that’s because this moment is a reference to one of Kubrick’s own movies, the infamous 1971 film, “A Clockwork Orange”. In the movie, classical music plays as Alex and his mates walk along moments before he attacks them.

#4: Cameo of a Baby Wayans

Remember the episode where John and Quiet take shelter in an abandoned movie theater and watch a shlocky flick? Well, what if we told you that you can watch this movie for yourself? Yes, the movie in question is indeed called “Blankman”, and it was one of the most notoriously awful movies to have been released in the 90s. Starring a young Damon Wayans, the film tells the story about a young man who tries to become a superhero after his grandmother is taken down by the mafia. The 1994 movie was made on a measly budget of between twenty and thirty million dollars, but it only made back a fraction of that.

#3: Remnants of the Turtle Club

Prior to John and Quiet’s childish dub of “Blankman”, there was another film that made a brief appearance in the same episode. When Quiet throws her hatchet, she manages to hit a cardboard cutout of a man in a turtle outfit. This, too, is an actual movie that is not directly referenced by name and has long faded into obscurity. That cutout was of SNL alumni Dana Carvey, who had starred in the 2002 comedy “The Master of Disguise”. For a hot minute the “turtle, turtle” joke was being thrown around left and right when the movie was released. However, something tells us that folks didn’t get to enjoy that for long when “Twisted Metal’s” apocalypse came about.

#2: Sacred Symbols of the 90s

By now, you’re probably thinking about how Season Two revealed that Roadkill has a Triangle button that activates its turbo boost. However, that is not the kind of “sacred symbol” we’re talking about here. In the first episode of Season Two, we see that John has been playing a number of driving and racing video games to prepare for Calypso’s tournament. Sure, we all noticed a copy of “Twisted Metal 2” on the top of the pile, but did anyone notice the games underneath or around it? Two of them stick out to us: “Driver”, which was published by GT Interactive, and behind TM2’s case, “Gran Turismo”, the legendary 1997 game racing sim that is still alive and well today.

#1: The School of Legends

For any “Twisted Metal” fan, this was such a cool reference to spot in the middle of Season Two! When Calypso drops off the contestants at the location they’re staying at between tournament rounds, we get a glimpse of what the name of the location is. Welcome to Jaffe Campbell High School! The name serves as a nod of respect toward the creators of “Twisted Metal”, Scott Campbell and David Jaffe. While both spent decades making “Twisted Metal” and several other games, both have since retired from game development and are pursuing other ventures. But their names will forever live on in PlayStation’s hall of fame, and not just in the end credits.

Did you spot any of these references yourself? Let us know down in the comments!