I thought it'd be fun to go through the various monsters and point out cultural references SP has put into the game. Some have been discussed in detail before, but I thought an exhaustive discussion might be interesting. Here are the commons, uncommons, and rares. I'll update the thread with more discussion over time.

Tyrannoking

His description begins with “Hail to the king, baby!” This line was originally spoken by Ash in the classic horror comedy Army of Darkness. It’s also subsequently been used by classic shooter hero, Duke Nukem.

Bloomskips

Bloomskips’ description makes clear that SP wants you to think of the Piranha Plants from Super Mario Bros.: “Bloomskips feel at home when popping out of dark, tight spaces like pipes! Just hope that you aren't a plumber or he's coming for you!”

Heimdal

Heimdall (or Heimdallr) in Norse mythology is a being with foreknowledge, vigilantly keeping watch for Ragnarok. This monster shares little more than a name and Nordic look with him.

Metanephrops

This monster gets its name from metal, obviously, but also the scientific name for the lobster family, Nephropidae.

Djinn

Djinn’s description references the Disney movie, Aladdin, saying that “you’ve never had a friend like him before!”

Bonbon

His description seems to reference the hilarious (and explicit) song, “Tribute” by Tenacious D. In that song, Jack Black sings that “this is not the greatest song in the world, no, this is a just a tribute.” Similarly, Bonbon is not the greatest monster in the world, but is just a tribute.

Koopigg

His name and turtle design are references to Mario’s nemesis, King Koopa (or more often in modern day, Bowser). His description says that he’s King Koopa’s son and that you won’t find him kidnapping princesses.

Rudicius

Rudicius’ name, description, and even appearance seem to reference the ancient wise man, Confucius.

Molem

His description mentions the fall of Helmantica. This is an ancient city now known as Salamanca in Spain. The city itself was captured and occupied by various peoples and groups throughout history. His name is obvious play on the mythical Golem creature of Jewish folklore.

Boneticore

Boneticore’s name and design are inspired by the Persian mythological creature, the manticore (a human’s head, a lion’s body, and a spined or sometimes scorpion tail). Like the Boneticore, whose special attack is called Spike Cloud, the manticore hurled quilled spikes at his enemies.

Metaselach

Given the liquid metal, shapeshifting, his design reminds me of the T-1000 from T2. I don’t know that he’s a direct reference to the time travelling machine from the future or if he’s merely inspired by that sort of design.

Garuda M3

Nothing in Garuda M3’s design seems to reflect his namesake, but Garuda is a mythological bird-like creature most often ridden by the god Vishnu.

Crux

Crux’s special attack is called “Swerda,” a derivation of the Norse “sverd” meaning “sword.”

Dan Felino

If you couldn’t guess, he’s an on the nose reference to Dan Marino, the famous Miami Dolphin quarterback.

Trevor

Trevor is the living embodiment of various Irish references from his design to the names of each of his attacks.

Crushmore

Do I need to explain the references to Mount Rushmore?

LaCroc

Named and designed for the French tennis player René Lacoste, who was nicknamed “The Crocodile.”

Nereida

Nereids were sea nymphs out of Greek mythology.

Cristobal

Like Crushmore, Cristobal is an obvious reference, this time to the fabled explorer, Christopher Columbus.

Hedgy

Released during the Videogames Maze, what other classic hedgehog could this be a reference to other than the super fast, ring collecting Sonic the Hedgehog?

Nanukk

Nanook is a mythological/religious figure of the Inuit people who was connected with polar bears. Nanukk, on the other hand is a sort of walrus but is certainly a creature of the north, from where he is inspired.

What do you think? I miss any important cultural or historical references?

Idk about missing or anything but it was a fun read. Many thanks 😍

Very nice :)
check pm by the way ;)

Let's talk about some of the earliest references in this game.

Lord of Atlantis and Thorder

These two are fairly obvious. Lord of Atlantis is a reference to the lost city in Greek mythology. Thorder references the Norse god of thunder, Thor.

Nemestrinus

Not one I had heard of before, Nemestrinus was a minor god in the Roman pantheon, this one being a god of forests and groves.

White Walker and Worker Hulk

These two are also pretty clear, White Walkers are looming threat in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, otherwise known as Game of Thrones. The Worker Hulk is a reference to the Incredible Hulk, the green-skinned behemoth with a penchant for wearing purple.

Darkzgul and Ra'Zhul

I include both of these because I believe they both reference the dead kings of Middle Earth, the Nazgul from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

@sansot
did you search for those info or just your personal knowledge ?

@Haka-Taka Out of these, I knew about 3/4 of the references. Definitely had to do some research though!

and here is drazz

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draža_Mihailović

this is arcade (from kung fury movie)

@sansot Fox said that the ads for the Raid monster Ixofex were inspired by Starship Troopers.

@sansot Then there is also this previous post.

https://forums.socialpointgames.com/topic/4389/new-monsters-based-on-real-life-events/3

Let's talk Pandalfs. Most of them have essentially the same movesets. I really like how each of them is holding a unique item in one of their hands, most often a staff.

Pandalf

The original himself. Pandalf is modeled after Gandalf the Grey, from his robe to his pointy, wide-brimmed hat. Pandalf in his fully evolved form even carries a similar staff. Lastly, Pandalf's special attack is called "Wizard Fireworks" a nod to the very thing Gandalf was most known for by the hobbits of Hobbiton.

Pandaval

Pandaval has the exact same moveset and stats as Pandalf, making the only differences to be his design and description. Pandaval is a reference to Carnival, a big festive celebration all over the world, but most notably in Latin countries, particularly Brazil. We'll talk a lot more about Carnival when I discuss Firelequin later.

Pandaxplorer

Anytime you have an adventurer with a brown fedora and leather jacket, you know you're referencing Indiana Jones. I should also note that Pandaxplorer was first released during the Hollywood Island event. While his skills are the same as Pandalf's his special is named "It's a Trap." While Indy is known for disabling all manner of booby traps in his adventures, the line itself comes from another beloved Lucas Films character. Narrowly dodging those traps is also a part of his special attack's animation.

Pandafest

This panda family member is a clear reference to Oktoberfest, a massive beer festival in the Bavarian region of Germany. His description and special move both reference all things stereotypically German: sauerkraut, beer, and Bavaria. His description also mentions Tyrolean songs. Tyrol is a region in the Alps, just south of Bavaria.

Zomdalf

Pandalf if he were a zombie. Pretty simple. But I do want to mention his special attack, "They Are Not Dead." My first thought is this may be a play on Gandalf's famous line: "You shall not pass!" However, They Are Not Dead is also an anonymously written poem, often recited, printed, or read at a funeral. Lastly, his special animation conjures zombified versions of the original 3 commons: Fire Lion, Turtle, and Panda.

Super Pandalf

He was released during the Superhero Maze event over two years ago. Just a superhero version of the ML mascot.

Pandalfio

So, I'm using the image off the Wiki here, but the final design of Pandalfio is all gray, not red. But the reference is clear: this is Pandalf Mario. His description mentions plumbing, his moves mention Brawl, Thwomps, Chomps, mushrooms, and of course, "Bros." His special animation even includes a giant, wooden hammer.

Panda Claus

One of only two legendary Pandalfs, he also gets a complete moveset redesign, all referencing things related to Christmas and the jolly man himself, Santa Claus. I linked those references for the sake of completeness, but if you've never heard of Christmas or Santa, I'm sorry.

White Pandalf

SP figured out a way to squeeze a second Gandalf reference out of this monster, this time being Gandalf the White. After Gandalf fell at the Bridge of Kazad-dum and killed the Balrog (another reference for us in the future!), Gandalf died. However, Eru (God, essentially, in the LoTR universe), brought him back, decked out in new threads and revitalized purpose. White Pandalf's special attack ("You cannot win!") again appears to be a nod to "You shall not pass!" I also want to point out his staff. It appears to be a combination of both staves used by Gandalf in the movies:

@sansot Captain Legends is based on Captain America. I love this monster. He was my favorite Thunder monster before I started getting legendaries. I got him early on somehow. Can't remember. At the time, I thought his special's animation, Monsters Assemble!, was one of the coolest. The phrase, "Monster's Assemble" is a spoof of Captain America's favorite phrase, "Avengers Assemble."

Let's talk about some water epics.

Musu

This one's not technically ML referencing something else, but players of SP's Dragon City will know that Monstruous Dragon is pulled right out of Monster Legends.

Arnu

Arnu's description and design reference the toxic poison dart frog, or frogs like it. His special attack, Everybody Loves Hypnofrog, is a reference to Hypnotoad from the amazing show, Futurama. All glory to the Hypnotoad!

Sasquach/Neandertaler

So, Sasquach isn't a water-type, but he and Neandertaler are essentially the same monster. Sasquatch specifically is another name for the mythical Bigfoot, believed by some to roam the Pacific Northwest. A neanderthal is one of those many pre-humans. Looking at their skills (which are mostly the same) we find Ts’emekwes, which is a version of Bigfoot from the Lummi people, a Native American tribe out of Washington State. We also see Stiyaha, another Native American version of Bigfoot. Lastly, we get Gigantopithecus, another ancient evolutionary cousin.

Freedom Feather

USA USA USA! As an American these references are painfully obvious, but I will point out the more obscure Committee of 5 skill. This references the five founding fathers tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence.

Aiden

The name itself comes from Aidan, which was the name of the Celtic sun god. Even more, the name means "fiery." Fits to me!

Ledovech

This ice/rock monster gets his name from the Czech word for glacier: ledovec.

Stöirm

This storm cloud gets its inspiration for its attacks from the clouds themselves. Every skill (other than the defaults and special) are types of clouds.

Donaturtle

This is the ML equivalent of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, if you couldn't guess. Most notably, the turtle Donatello, known for his penchant for purple and his weapon of choice, the bo staff. Most of Donaturtle's skills are named for various bo staff techniques. His special attack is named for the Ninja Turtles' catch phrase, Cowabunga. Lastly, check out that amazing ode to TMNT in that special attack animation where each turtle pops in and attacks with his unique weapon and color!

Anaitis

Her design and description both reference the fact that she is a mermaid. More specifically, her name is derived from the naiads, often described as water nymphs in Greek mythology.

Let's talk about some mythological epic monsters.

Darknubis

Anubis was the jackal-headed god of the Egyptians associated with the afterlife. The afterlife is mentioned in Darknubis' description and this also explains his inclusion in the Underworld book.

Tartarus

Tartarus was essentially the Greek version of hell, the location in the afterlife reserved for the Titans (overthrown by Zeus and the other gods) and the wicked. Obviously, this Tartarus is a cyclops, the most famous of which was the one encountered by Odysseus, [Polyphemus]. That particular cyclops is referenced in one of Tartarus' attacks, Polyphemus Rage. In that encounter, Odysseus lies to Polyphemus and tells him that his name is "No One" or "Nobody" so that when Polyphemus yells for help, he shouts that "Nobody hurt me!" and no one comes to help him. This is reflected in the skill named "Revenge of no one." His special skill, Acis' Fate, is a reference to a story involving the same cyclops Polyphemus, who killed his romantic rival, [Acis]

Wolfkami

Firstly, the Japanese word "okami" means "wolf." More than this, wolves and other animals, have a special significance in Japanese folklore and culture.

Hellberus/Coldberus

The basic designs here are the same. These monsters draw their inspiration from the Greek myths surrounding Cerberus, often thought of as the guard dog of Hades. This three-headed guard dog was also known to have a snake for tail, not unlike Hellberus. Coldberus seems to take this hell hound idea and just make him ice-based.

Medussha

Medusa is the fabled Greek Gorgon, a winged woman with snakes for hair. Medussha takes this a step further and makes her lower-half a snake. Medusa had the ability to turn those who looked at her to stone, hence the various skills that mention rocks and just so happen to stun and daze enemies. She was ultimately killed by the hero Perseus, who is mentioned in one of her skills. I'd wager her name is also intended to make her sound even more serpent-like.

Ao Loong

Back to Asia, I cannot even begin to scratch the surface of the significance of dragons in Chinese culture. For our purposes, just know that "long" means dragon and this one is specifically referencing the Dragon Dance that occurs on the Chinese New Year.

Seraphim

A seraph is a type of heavenly being or angel found in the Bible. Technically, the singular is "seraph" and the plural is "seraphim." These guys are the throne guardians that encircle the throne of God.

Horus

Back to Egyptian mythology, Horus is the extremely important falcon-headed deity. The name "Horus" itself is thought to possibly mean "the distant one," which is why you'll find that reference in his description.

Gold Ra

Ra is the sun in Egyptian mythology and pretty much the most important of them all. Gold Ra shares this solar connection, being a bright gold color and a fire-type. Ra was often depicted as a beetle, rolling across the sky like some beetles roll dirt and dung. Seriously. Later Egyptians merged Horus and Ra into the same entity, which is why you'll also find the familiar falcon head on depictions of Ra.

Nemestriborg

I've talked about Nemestrinus before, the minor Greek god of groves, but thought I'd revisit it here, as it's the inspiration behind this monster as well, just with a bit of a robotic twist.

Cybele

This is another direct reference to Greek mythology. Cybele was a minor goddess, most often associated with nature.

Semargl

This one was released during the Slavic Tales event and is a clear reference to the Slavic Simargl, a deity/mythical beast most often depicted as a winged lion or dog.

Callisto

This monster shares a name with a famous [Greek nymph]. His design of a rhino has little to do with this nymph, though. And clothes and skills all seem to indicate a Roman inspiration (all his attacks are Latin phrases).