Monkeys

Monkeys
Apearance(s):	Manhunt
Name:	The Monkeys
Type:	Mentally Disturbed
Front(s):	Carcer City Zoo
Weapons:	Machete Shotgun Sawn-Off Shotgun
Enemies:	James Earl Cash Wardogs

"Ooh Ooh Ahh Ahh!!"

- a Monkey.

The Monkeys are a rare, but extremely dangerous group of Hunters in Manhunt. They only appear in the bonus mission Monkey See, Monkey Die. Their weapons of choice are the Sawn-Off Shotgun, Shotgun, and Machete.

Description

Operating in the Carcer Zoo, although the game says they're real monkeys, the Monkeys are actually a gang of lunatics who believe themselves to be primates - or at the very least go through the effort of mimicking them; dressing in monkey costumes and only making monkey sounds. However, as unorthodox and insane their behavior and actions may seem, the Monkeys are actually intelligent and very well armed with a large stockpile of shotguns and deadly Machetes. Their costumes are based around the Jolly Chimp toy, with on closer inspection their coats appearing to be repurposed marching band attire, finished off with 666 printed on the back of the coat. When compared with the Innocentz, it seems the Monkeys are just using the infamous number as a gang insignia, and are not actual Satanists. However, given that they are a violent gang that acts like primates, nothing can be certain.

Personality

They are very territorial and loyal to the gang, probably their only redeeming quality, not for the player anyway. Although seemingly primal, the Monkeys are resourceful and use cover or ambushes to try and kill James Earl Cash. The start of Monkey See, Monkey Die gives a description reading "The banana shortage has given the Zoo monkeys an appetite for death!". While it is obvious this message isn't meant to be taken literally, a Wardog is still seen being suddenly murdered from behind. This implies there is some sort of territorial/resource struggle between these two gangs. Although the scene isn't canon, one could assume the Monkeys were not set up by Starkweather, and Cash is possibly being used to save the Wardogs. But, it's likely not, because Starkweather actually cares about the Wardogs or their well-being; He just wants to make sure Cash has enough Hunters to face off against in his snuff movie. All of this would make the Monkeys a terrifyingly animalistic, well-calculated force to be reckoned with, and are probably the only gang that are even a thorn in Starkweather's side since their mental state renders them unable to follow orders or listen to reason, much like Piggsy.

Trivia

• The Monkeys are the only Hunters that do not speak a single word, as they only mimic monkey sounds. The only time they actually make human noises is when they are being executed or when they die, screaming in pain and grunting.
  • However, the sounds these enemies make while being executed and during death in combat are the ones used by other Hunters, which could mean the human noises the Monkeys make are just a developer oversight.
    • Although obviously people in costumes, since the bonus scenes aren't considered canon, it is possible the Monkeys could actually be giant, sadistic, and misanthropic versions of the Jolly Chimp toys. Similar to how Camheds (a cut gang) were just humanoids with huge cameras as heads.
• Due to sharing the same territory, the Monkeys seem to be in conflict with the Wardogs, as seen in the intro of the mission Monkey See, Monkey Die where a Monkey ambushed and killed a Wardog member. Missions taking place in the Carcer Zoo often depict Wardogs whispering about their comrades who fell to the Monkeys. However since Monkeys' canonity is debatable, they could be whispering about urban legends or myths.
• The Monkeys are very similar to Piggsy in that they are designed to embody human savagery and have clinical lycanthropy, a very rare and dangerous syndrome where a person believes that they are an animal.
• At the start of Monkey See, Monkey Die, their choice of firearm is the Sawn-Off Shotgun. However, once Cash reaches the dead Wardog to obtain the combat Shotgun, the Monkeys will begin using said weapon as well to increase the difficulty.
• A hidden Monkey can be spotted at the end of the bonus level. However, it's unreachable and can only be approached with a trainer.
• A very faint image of a Monkey head can be seen in the bottom left corner of the bonus art panel which features the Scarecrow Halloween Variant (PS2-USA game version).
• The Monkeys have the Number of the Beast (666) written on their backs. But, whether they have any true correlation to Satanism is debatable.
• In an unused text at the end of Mouth of Madness, Starkweather told Cash to put on the Monkey suit for Doing Time, which makes sense of Starkweather's "Monkey see, monkey kill!" line at the beginning of the aforementioned scene.
  • If the above statement is true, it means the Monkeys were not originally planned to be Hunters and Cash is technically killing himself, as the model was supposed to be him in the suit.
  • Ironically, there is a cheat called "Monkey Skin" that replaces Cash's model with a Monkey.
• Despite being the least common gang in the game and existed in only one level, 39 members of this gang are directly encountered in Monkey See, Monkey Die, which is an even greater amount of Hunters than the SWAT, with the amount of just 21.
• The Monkeys are most likely the most dangerous gang in the game, even more so than the Smileys; Along with immediately spawning in numbers against Cash, aggressively popping out of corners and doors, armed with many shotguns and bladed weapons, they can also run faster than other Hunters - the same speed Ramirez does, making escaping into the shadows difficult. They are also comparable to Piggsy in behavior.
• It can also be assumed that the Monkeys are a possible replacement of the Clowns, a scrapped mentally disturbed gang and supposed rival of the Smileys. The two gangs share in common that they both use Sawn-Off-Shotguns as their main weapon.