The 1337 Crew (or L33T)is a group of characters in the Madness Series. They are enemies who the protagonist of the series, Hank, must fight during his struggles. The Crew is made up of characters who wear and use the same equipment as the Agents [1] did in the movie The Matrix [2] (these include suit and ties, the distinctive sunglasses, and Desert Eagles). First appearing in Madness Apotheosis, they are elite soldiers who are meant to stop Hank, but they never fare much better than the previous enemies. Sometimes, they seem more concentrated on keeping their glasses on straight, evidenced by the time when Hank smacked an agent in the head and he straightened his glasses in the heat of battle, ignoring any possible attacks.
Origin
Their first and subsequent appearance in Madness Apotheosis and Madness Depredation did little to describe what the goal and purpose of the 1337 Crew actually was, and thus they were left an oddity to fans. However, this all changed with the release of Madness Antipathy in which a poster as well as various signs which were in the background described in detail what the 1337 Crew was and why it came into being. The Crew is a smaller squad of a much larger group called the Agency Against Hank Wimbleton, an organization whose goal is to stop the violence and mayhem caused by Hank. The Crew are the elites of this group who are heading the anti-Hank effort.
Madness Interactive's character editor contains components called "Smith Hair" which resembles Agent Smith's hair and ear piece, "Smith Shades" which are the distinctive sunglasses, and "Businessman" which is a black suit and tie. These designs are seen towards the end of the story mode in the rooms in front of the sheriff's. The members of the 1337 Crew have all of these traits except for the hair. Since Madness Interactive was made prior to Apotheosis, and thus before the Crew's first appearance, the "Smith" enemies may have given Krinkels the initial idea for the 1337 Crew, but this is unverified.
Appearances
Madness Apotheosis
The Crew made their first appearance in Apotheosis in the form of a single member as well as various recruitment posters scattered throughout the background. The single member showed obvious improvement over the other enemies and was able to hold up Hank for at least eight seconds. He also appeared to command some respect from the normal grunts, as the guard next to the agent appeared to ask his permission before approaching Hank around the corner. However, the agent was still silenced when he was impaled in through the throat with a nightstick. The agent later returned in the state of a zombie with a G-36 and managed to shoot Hank. However, the 1337 zombie's head was sliced in half by Hank's katana seconds later. It should be noted that the Deagle he carried was a normal one with a laser attachment, rather than being the easily-recognized black "1337 Deagle" of the next two episodes.
Madness Depredation
Although the 1337 Crew has greater abilities than the typical grunt, they are still no match for the series' protagonists.
The Crew also appeared in Depredation, the fifth installment of the series. In it, every enemy who was not a main character was a member of the 1337 Crew. (Excluding Sanford and Deimos and the people in the 'flying party') Despite their numbers and their skills, however, they proved to be no match for Hank and were slaughtered just as easily as the other enemies were before them.
Madness Antipathy
Madness Antipathy was the Crew's most important episode by far in that it gave the details necessary to know who they were and what they were about. In this episode, they are actually within a recruitment center, and so most enemies (except for the main characters as well as several "new recruits") were part of the Crew. It appears that Tricky is at least an ally of the 1337 Crew, as he calls upon them for assistance in this episode. Also, one of the signs directing enlistment procedures refers to a "New Lord and Master", however, this more than likely refers to the auditor.
Madness Consternation
Consternation shows a very vital change in the 1337 Crew. In this episode, the 1337 crew wear red sunglasses instead of the older dark ones and are now named l33t. Also, two members are shown stabbed to walls with knives in two parts of the episode. Furthermore, there seem to be three new ranks to the crew, a giant version of a l33t agent (presumably named the Mag-Agent: Torture) with two large spikes stabbed through its head and a large shotgun (this agent was shot several times by Hank without even being fazed, though it was later killed by several chainsaw wounds to the face), two different members with seemingly yellow blood that wore a sort of mask with a yellow visor, and two more large agents, each with a strange mask and seemingly exposed teeth (Possiblly a genetic experiment of some sort). The l33t seem to be lead by the auditor. Also, Jesus appears to no longer be an ally of the crew, as he shows no hesitation in killing three members toward the end of the episode. On a side note, the l33t crew seem to be having more of an effect on Hank, however, it is unknown if this is a result of Hank's frequent body changes, or if the crew is becoming more powerful.
Madness Inundation
The l33t agents have not changed their appearance in Madness Inundation. The advanced members of the crew are also more common and they play a more vital role. In the animation, cryogenic pods are shown in the background of a building, offering the possibility that the l33t agents are either given some sort of powers unnaturally, or are being transformed into the larger or the yellow blooded agents seen in this and the previous episode.
Madness Aggregation
The l33t crew will reappear in Madness Combat 9, and have still not changed their appearance. It is rumored that the Mag V3 guard will appear. Also Hank is brought back to life "again" and has a mutated arm. To view this and all of the other Madness episodes Click Here also check out Krinkel's site Here.