Gladiator

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* History

**This article is about the media company from Tiny Heist and The Unsleeping City: Chapter II, Gladiator**.

For the article about the Ceresian NPC from A Crown of Candy, see Ceresian Gladiator.

## Gladiator

### Campaign

Tiny Heist

The Unsleeping City: Chapter II

### Known Members

The Littles (customers)Calvin (affiliated promoter)

**Gladiator** is an enormous, monolithic internet-based media company. They have warehouses and shopping departments, but also produce content in various media forms.

## Featured Episodes

 **The Unsleeping City: Chapter II*** Episode 1: The Fall of New York City
* Episode 2: Heaven and Hell on Earth (mentioned)
* Episode 4: We Need to Talk About Cody (mentioned)
* Episode 6: Collaborators
* Episode 7: Parade of Peril
* Episode 8: Feasts & Families (mentioned)
* Episode 9: Fight at the Museum (mentioned)
* Episode 10: Nulla Dies Umquam Memori Vos Eximet Aevo (mentioned)

## Description

Gladiator is a multi-media megacorporation with a wide variety of products and services, though they mainly operate through the internet. These products and services include, but is not limited to: "Gladiator Prime" streaming services; "Gladiator Prime" premium shipping accounts; "Sylvia", an electronic helper to place online orders; online shopping; education; a credit card and unique currency; and "Cipher", a flavorless nutrition beverage that prevents people from entering REM sleep and dreaming. At the Thanksgiving Macy's Parade in 2022, they unveiled a new courier drone, Sparty, to help with their deliveries.

The company is currently planning to build a state-of-the-art, largest in the world corporate campus. It is planned to have dorms for their employees to live, and a food court where employees can eat and buy food using Gladiator's credit card and currency. It is assumed that many of the businesses and properties being bought out over the city recently are being bought out by Gladiator in order to build their campus. These properties include, but are not limited to: the Queens Center Mall; an electronics store on 125th Street; the store where the husband of the Upper East Side woman from the subway bought her 30th wedding anniversary gift; one of the woman's favorite music venues; and the woman's apartment.

Gladiator is, in a sense, the Vox Phantasma of Null. Several members of the organization have been possessed by Null during periods of mental exhaustion. Null doesn't name individuals as its voice, but instead a vaguely defined conglomerate. Gladiator is not actively working for Null, rather their own actions just happen to help Null, and Null pushes them into the correct direction.

## Tiny Heist

### Breaking and Entering

Gladiator is first introduced when Car-Go Jones searches around Felix Flick's office as the Tiny Thieves are attempting to steal his roll of quarters. Among other things, Car-Go sees plans to tap into the Littles' Sylvia device and use the quarters to purchase bulk orders of plastic army men toys.

## The Unsleeping City: Chapter II

### The Fall of New York City

Gladiator is first introduced in The Unsleeping City as Cody Walsh observes the Queens Center Mall and the Gladiator ads that surround it. He waits until the construction workers standing nearby turn around and throws a ninja star at one of the smiling faces on a poster. The foreman catches him, and tries to tell him to leave, but Cody won't budge. They exchange insults-- Cody directing his at the workers' affiliations with Gladiator-- before the police arrive and confiscate Cody's sword.

Later, as Kingston Brown catches up with Pete Conlan, he mentions that he and his partner, Liz Herrera, use Gladiator's streaming service, Gladiator Prime. After their meeting, Pete scrolls Instagram and comes across an engagement announcement post from his ex, Priya Danger. The man she's engaged to recently made a post promoting Gladiator's flavorless nutrition beverage, Cipher.

That night, Cody breaks back into the mall to liberate some of the Hot Topic merchandise that had been left behind. He comes across a demonic looking notebook and summons Bazathrax, who he is eager to sell his soul to, believing him to be Lucifer in the flesh. He offers up his soul in exchange for the privilege of working for Bazathrax, as well as magic powers to help take down Gladiator once and for all.

### Heaven and Hell on Earth

On their way to meet Kingston at St. Owen's Hospital to ask him about antipopuli, Cody complains to Pete (again) about Gladiator shutting down the mall.

## Trivia

* Gladiator is the fictional equivalent of Amazon, and its role in The Unsleeping City: Chapter II is partially inspired by the news from early 2019 that they were cancelling their plans to build part of their HQ2 in New York City.
* The existence of Gladiator in both Tiny Heist and The Unsleeping City: Chapter II hints towards the headcanon Brennan has that the two campaigns take place in the same universe.
* Misfits and Magic featured real prop wands for the players to use, which were delivered in boxes depicting a Gladiator logo, designed by the season's art director, Sydney Marquez.

## References

1. ↑ Oren Cohen interview, 3 November 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNR-3p8wtiA&feature=youtu.be
2. ↑ CBR interview with Brennan "Bonus Lore", 10 November 2020: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GD87lSqaUNziFuMiJFNvljSs6bnbetSs0Ai4OyW6Adw/edit?usp=sharing
3. ↑ Dimension 20 Twitter, 22 July 2021: https://twitter.com/dimension20show/status/1418409887185395715