What is it about psycho killer clowns? Ever since John Wayne Gacy first slapped white paint and a red nose onto his bloated face, the concept of a murderous jester seems to have taken root in pop culture. We know they’re pure evil, and yet we keep pumping out more of them! Some come from outer space, some live in the sewers, and some drive armored ice cream trucks. It’s the latter that still seems to be laughing:
Twisted Metal
’s own Needles Kane, a.k.a Sweet Tooth.With an upcoming series on NBC’s Peacock in 2023 and a game reboot coming soon, the Twisted Metal franchise seems to be back in the spotlight with nothing but green lights ahead. But let’s
pump the brakes
(it’s too easy, sorry!) on celebrating too quickly. Though Sweet Tooth’s iconic image may have previously been Playstation’s ace-card for success, it’s been a while since 1995. Times have changed – does the clown still have enough clout to sway today’s players?
Guitar solos drown out the sound of sirens wailing. Your vehicle roars down polygonal streets, picking up a cache of weapons to blast your opponents to pieces. Then you hear it: high-pitched maniacal laughter. Anyone who’s played Twisted Metal 1 will fondly—or maybe not so fondly—remember the first time they encountered the ice cream truck and the flaming head of its masked driver. How could you not? That malevolent clown has been purposefully burned into player’s brain due to the fact that he’s been featured on every piece of Twisted Metal cover art since the series’ inception; certainly not by accident.It’s basic Marketing 101. Create a character that becomes synonymous with the product. All the great ones have done it: Sega’s
Sonic
, Nintendo’s
Mario
and Xbox’s
Master Chief
. You remember Playstation’s Polygon Man, right? Don’t feel bad, nobody does (unless you played PS All-Stars Battle Royale). Upon Playstation’s 1995 debut in North America, one of the very first games released for the console was Twisted Metal. It was gritty. It was grungy. A blazing bouncing clown head set the tone and people ate it up.For the moment, it looked like Sweet Tooth was Playstation’s troubling de facto mascot. Soon, after however, he was usurped by the much more cuddly—and kid-friendly—
Crash Bandicoot
, but not before becoming an unstoppable force and name. Players and even those vaguely familiar with the series began using the moniker “Sweet Tooth” for the tricked out vehicle and its driver, despite Needles Kane being the one behind the wheel.
Needles (eh, let’s just call him Sweet Tooth) has gone through several significant changes throughout the series, for good and for bad. The first two Twisted Metal titles cemented his psychotic presence but later in the series, the ill-advised Twisted Metal 3 and 4 backtracked and gave him more of a goofy, Joker-esque air. Even the wardrobe choices made him seem more like an eccentric cosplayer on Halloween. All that changed with Twisted Metal: Black.As was the standard MO, Sweet Tooth was the main selling point, but something was different this time around. From the “M” rating to the characters’ truly dark backstories and epilogues, Twisted Metal: Black not only injected edgy lifeblood back into the series, but it brought Sweet Tooth to the foreground like never before with cutscenes that unveiled his story throughout the game. Some players even agreed that despite his depravity and proclivity for mass murder, they actually felt soothed by the clown’s deep steady voice, while others unabashedly showered the character with praise.
![Sweet Tooth in Twisted Metal Black for PS2]()
Previously, the lore of the Twisted Metal entries seemed to skirt around the edge of darkness, letting your imagination do the rest, but Twisted Metal: Black shoved you right into the pit. For one, Sweet Tooth’s infinite flames origin is given to us in the form of a cutscene. With our own eyes, we witness the preacher character Brimstone damning Sweet Tooth with all the flames of hell as the clown is electrocuted for his crimes, but not before brutally murdering his guards.Going further, 2012’s self-titled Twisted Metal graphically answers that burning question you’ve all been wondering: just what the hell could make an ice-cream vendor go nuts? Family man and split-personality victim Marcus Kane, loves his wife and kids, but when his other demented half, Needles, takes over, it’s a familial bloodbath except for his older daughter, who escapes after stabbing Sweet Tooth in the eye with some scissors. Just fills you with fuzzy feelings, no? The Twisted minds finally capitalized on the allure of Sweet Tooth and made his character more captivating than he was in 1995. That takes talent, and it’s clear that fans have appreciated their efforts.The decision then to turn the game franchise into a TV show may be warranted. NBC may be banking on the fact that the main demographic of viewers will be those who still remember being mesmerized by Sweet Tooth’s chaotic charm, and a younger audience who will no doubt fall under his candy-coated spell.It’s interesting that the show is being listed as an action/comedy, but even more telling that it features two individual performers cast as the killer clown: one WWE champion “Samoa” Joe as the hulking physical form, and actor Will Arnett as the gravelly voice behind the mask. Arnett’s bass-note delivery can be heard in characters from BoJack Horseman to LEGO Batman from the Lego Movie. If there’s anyone who can create a pathos for Sweet Tooth, it’s Arnett, granting him depth like James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, another charismatic killer.However, a major hurdle for the series to consider is the public reaction. It’s always proved to be a slippery slope when messing with people’s memories, particularly retired/extinct pop-culture symbols with a passionate fan base. Remember Cowboy Bebop’s short-lived live-action series? The upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie
still
continues to draw fans’ ire, and it hasn’t even hit cinemas yet. As for the game reboot, it remains to be seen just what could be achieved that wasn’t already accomplished in the late 90s. There’s a thirst for modern car combat, but it has to be better than the middlingly received
Destruction AllStars
.
True, current technology may give the Twisted Metal series new wings to achieve previously unreached heights
graphically
, but is Twisted Metal the kind of franchise that would look better with a fresh coat of paint? It was perpetually covered in a thick coat of grease and grime to begin with. Like a Nirvana cover band, it’s cool and everything to worship the product, but is it simply impossible to accurately—and organically—recreate the tangible muck of that certain point in time?
![Sweet Tooth in the PS3 soft-reboot 'Twisted Metal']()
We can ponder all day about the decisions of studio executives, but the
wheels are in motion
(last one, seriously) and there’s not much we can do about it except to speculate on the future of Sweet Tooth. Will he remain enshrouded in his immortal, nostalgic flames, or will his morbid story become regurgitated and condensed for primetime TV? It may even turn out to be the ideal vehicle to give him his final sendoff, or at least for him to step down while another rises.At the moment, my feelings rest somewhere between, “Let sleeping dogs lie”, and, “If Will Arnett read me a bedtime story as Sweet Tooth, would that be so bad?” In the meantime, I think I’ll have a snow cone and go for a drive.
Twisted Metal
’s own Needles Kane, a.k.a Sweet Tooth.With an upcoming series on NBC’s Peacock in 2023 and a game reboot coming soon, the Twisted Metal franchise seems to be back in the spotlight with nothing but green lights ahead. But let’s
pump the brakes
(it’s too easy, sorry!) on celebrating too quickly. Though Sweet Tooth’s iconic image may have previously been Playstation’s ace-card for success, it’s been a while since 1995. Times have changed – does the clown still have enough clout to sway today’s players?
Guitar solos drown out the sound of sirens wailing. Your vehicle roars down polygonal streets, picking up a cache of weapons to blast your opponents to pieces. Then you hear it: high-pitched maniacal laughter. Anyone who’s played Twisted Metal 1 will fondly—or maybe not so fondly—remember the first time they encountered the ice cream truck and the flaming head of its masked driver. How could you not? That malevolent clown has been purposefully burned into player’s brain due to the fact that he’s been featured on every piece of Twisted Metal cover art since the series’ inception; certainly not by accident.It’s basic Marketing 101. Create a character that becomes synonymous with the product. All the great ones have done it: Sega’s
Sonic
, Nintendo’s
Mario
and Xbox’s
Master Chief
. You remember Playstation’s Polygon Man, right? Don’t feel bad, nobody does (unless you played PS All-Stars Battle Royale). Upon Playstation’s 1995 debut in North America, one of the very first games released for the console was Twisted Metal. It was gritty. It was grungy. A blazing bouncing clown head set the tone and people ate it up.For the moment, it looked like Sweet Tooth was Playstation’s troubling de facto mascot. Soon, after however, he was usurped by the much more cuddly—and kid-friendly—
Crash Bandicoot
, but not before becoming an unstoppable force and name. Players and even those vaguely familiar with the series began using the moniker “Sweet Tooth” for the tricked out vehicle and its driver, despite Needles Kane being the one behind the wheel.
Needles (eh, let’s just call him Sweet Tooth) has gone through several significant changes throughout the series, for good and for bad. The first two Twisted Metal titles cemented his psychotic presence but later in the series, the ill-advised Twisted Metal 3 and 4 backtracked and gave him more of a goofy, Joker-esque air. Even the wardrobe choices made him seem more like an eccentric cosplayer on Halloween. All that changed with Twisted Metal: Black.As was the standard MO, Sweet Tooth was the main selling point, but something was different this time around. From the “M” rating to the characters’ truly dark backstories and epilogues, Twisted Metal: Black not only injected edgy lifeblood back into the series, but it brought Sweet Tooth to the foreground like never before with cutscenes that unveiled his story throughout the game. Some players even agreed that despite his depravity and proclivity for mass murder, they actually felt soothed by the clown’s deep steady voice, while others unabashedly showered the character with praise.
Previously, the lore of the Twisted Metal entries seemed to skirt around the edge of darkness, letting your imagination do the rest, but Twisted Metal: Black shoved you right into the pit. For one, Sweet Tooth’s infinite flames origin is given to us in the form of a cutscene. With our own eyes, we witness the preacher character Brimstone damning Sweet Tooth with all the flames of hell as the clown is electrocuted for his crimes, but not before brutally murdering his guards.Going further, 2012’s self-titled Twisted Metal graphically answers that burning question you’ve all been wondering: just what the hell could make an ice-cream vendor go nuts? Family man and split-personality victim Marcus Kane, loves his wife and kids, but when his other demented half, Needles, takes over, it’s a familial bloodbath except for his older daughter, who escapes after stabbing Sweet Tooth in the eye with some scissors. Just fills you with fuzzy feelings, no? The Twisted minds finally capitalized on the allure of Sweet Tooth and made his character more captivating than he was in 1995. That takes talent, and it’s clear that fans have appreciated their efforts.The decision then to turn the game franchise into a TV show may be warranted. NBC may be banking on the fact that the main demographic of viewers will be those who still remember being mesmerized by Sweet Tooth’s chaotic charm, and a younger audience who will no doubt fall under his candy-coated spell.It’s interesting that the show is being listed as an action/comedy, but even more telling that it features two individual performers cast as the killer clown: one WWE champion “Samoa” Joe as the hulking physical form, and actor Will Arnett as the gravelly voice behind the mask. Arnett’s bass-note delivery can be heard in characters from BoJack Horseman to LEGO Batman from the Lego Movie. If there’s anyone who can create a pathos for Sweet Tooth, it’s Arnett, granting him depth like James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, another charismatic killer.However, a major hurdle for the series to consider is the public reaction. It’s always proved to be a slippery slope when messing with people’s memories, particularly retired/extinct pop-culture symbols with a passionate fan base. Remember Cowboy Bebop’s short-lived live-action series? The upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie
still
continues to draw fans’ ire, and it hasn’t even hit cinemas yet. As for the game reboot, it remains to be seen just what could be achieved that wasn’t already accomplished in the late 90s. There’s a thirst for modern car combat, but it has to be better than the middlingly received
Destruction AllStars
.
True, current technology may give the Twisted Metal series new wings to achieve previously unreached heights
graphically
, but is Twisted Metal the kind of franchise that would look better with a fresh coat of paint? It was perpetually covered in a thick coat of grease and grime to begin with. Like a Nirvana cover band, it’s cool and everything to worship the product, but is it simply impossible to accurately—and organically—recreate the tangible muck of that certain point in time?
We can ponder all day about the decisions of studio executives, but the
wheels are in motion
(last one, seriously) and there’s not much we can do about it except to speculate on the future of Sweet Tooth. Will he remain enshrouded in his immortal, nostalgic flames, or will his morbid story become regurgitated and condensed for primetime TV? It may even turn out to be the ideal vehicle to give him his final sendoff, or at least for him to step down while another rises.At the moment, my feelings rest somewhere between, “Let sleeping dogs lie”, and, “If Will Arnett read me a bedtime story as Sweet Tooth, would that be so bad?” In the meantime, I think I’ll have a snow cone and go for a drive.
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