The Tattoo Artist, possibly also known as the Tension Man, is a minor character in Hotline Miami (possibly) and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. He is seen in the outro of Hard News.
Background[]
He may or may not be Russian, as he is called a "Russian asshole" (presumably by not getting his way) by Jake. His name may also be Tony (not to be confused with The Fan member Tony), as the tattoo parlor logo is "Tony Skate Tattoo".
He schedules Jake's appointment "next Friday at 2 PM," which is the date of Tension, May 5th, 1989. This could indicate he's the 50 Blessings member wearing a Tony Mask in that level, if so he is killed by Jacket, who blasts the door open with a shotgun, causing the entire room to explode. (But this theory is sketchy at best as it's possible that he's just a business owner. There is no actual evidence to link the "Tony" mask to this character aside from the tattoo parlor's logo.)
Hard News Dialogue[]
Tattoo Artist: Hi there! Welcome! What can I help you with?
Jake: I'd like to get a tattoo.
Tattoo Artist: Right... You got anything particular in mind?
Jake: I want Old Dixie... Right here, on my shoulder.
Tattoo Artist: OK, sure... Lemme see here... Right. How does next Friday 2 PM sound?
Jake: Friday? What do you mean? You can't do it now? It has to be today! Today's a special occasion. I'm celebrating!
Tattoo Artist: Sorry, boss! Can't help you! We're all booked for days.
Jake: Oh, is that so? What kind of business are you running here? You just lost yourself a customer, you Russian asshole!
Tattoo Artist: Whatever you say, boss...
[Jake returns to his car.]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Tattoo Artist, along with Pizza Dude and Sweetheart, is a call back to and parody of Beard's outros in Hotline Miami. Tattoo Artist establishes Jake's aimless anti-Russian sentiments and responds to heavily valuing special occasions with bureaucratic scheduling.
- The fact that he's a booked up tattoo artist might foreshadow Gangs and Prisoners.
- His appearance and name is based on Tony Skate, an actual Tattoo artist.
- According to files from the leaked beta, the Photographer's cut dialogue sprite looks identical to the Tattoo Artist's facial sprite, albeit with the eyes shaded out, and with a helmet on. If Tension Tony was however the Tattoo Artist, this along with the Field Jacket Tension Tony wears would suggest that he would be a US Army Veteran, much like Jacket, however due to the Photographer never speaking, and the sprite not being used, the facial sprite is non-canon.