Why has this “Mr. Johnson” thing gotten so much traction?
Maybe it’s because I’m from the US, but I have never really taken the “Mr. Johnson” tag too seriously as Johnson is a slang term here for a penis. The mental image of going to a place to meet a giant walking penis that is quite literally going to very likely try to have it’s way with you sans lube in the near future…yeah, I just can’t do it and keep a straight face.
I know it got started in Shadowrun and goes back the 1st edition there, but why is so prevalent in describing corporate cutouts in other, unrelated CP games?
It’s just an easy anonymous name to throw out there. It’s generic, understandable, and recognizable.
Call it something you don’t associate with a penis. Try Mr. Wang or Mr. Richard, whatever works for you.
It’s just like Mr. Smith or John Doe. One common name used as generic alias. In shadow run there’s a paragraph with some other names based on where are they from.
I think it is less innocent than some may think. Everyone is trying to screw everyone else in Shadowrun. The Johnson is like a personification of that concept. He will poke, prod, and otherwise take advantage of any weakness your team may have to get what he wants out of you. Ultimately, he wants to open you up so he can use you whenever he wants. Also, he can be a bit of a dick.
Gregory Daily lol
Gregory Daily Exactly! I’m all for that as it’s a strong genre trope (probably too common…but that’s another discussion), but you don’t need to be hitting the players with a Clue-by-four every time they interact with the NPC they need to really be keeping an eye on by having his street slang name be a constant reminder.
In Cyberpunk 2020, the slang for an inexpert netrunner (hacker) was a Wilson…also called a weeflerunner.
I hear you, but at the same time, it shows that they have their ears to the pulse of the runner world. The “Johnson” probably started as runner slang and posed of a lot of Mr. Smiths and Mr. Klein’s along the way. Everyone is trying to screw you, so I’m sure early on there were a few casualties due to the lack of anon. Someone was like, “They call us Mr. Johnson, so why don’t we all become him when dealing with these low life thugs?”, And the room of Johnsons retried in unanimous applaud and a little bit of arousal.
However it happened, I’m glad it did because the flavor just hits home. I don’t really focus on the name as much as I do the way the GM describes him/her and I ask about his mannerisms. I want to know if he’s Corp or a fixer trying to look Corp. I want to know if he’s a shift motherfucker or if he’s going to come through with the cred when I finish the job.
Why is the name popular? It’s a really generic name. It’s bland.
Charlie Vick that’s the point. It’s an obvious generic name for someone who doesn’t want anyone to know he really is.
Also its supposed to be a generic name, and in some ways its supposed to play on the slang…Mr Johnson is a dick..he always works for the corps..and even though they are hiring you..they are always trying to screw you.
Riley Crowder In a cyberpunk future, names have real power and employers, corporate or not, prefer to remain anonymous.
Also an important fact. 🙂
From a game familiarity standpoint, a lot of my players personally are very familliar with shadowrun. It makes it easier to equate terms if you’re using the same lexicanum: If I said to them “The J needs you to do this now,” each and every one of them would understand. Given how prevalent Shadowrun is in the CP tabletop scene, the term has kinda stuck.
Was there any character in the source “cyberpunk” SF novels who was indeed a fixer or go-between named (er, ahem, I mean calling themselves) Johnson?
I have never read the books but I’m looking into it. As someone else stated, the cyberpunk 2020 game called them, “Willies”. Maybe I’ll just look for the reference when I get around to reading them.
No, I mentioned that “Wilson” was the term in Cyberpunk 2020 for an inexperienced Netrunner (hacker). I don’t know if they had a particular term for a fixer, go-between or mission organizer. It is mentioned the Fixer character-class can organize jobs to get Solos and Netrunners and Nomads hired, and they are then called “skill brokers”.
My bad. I really need to read these books.
TV Tropes classifies “Mr Johnson” as a Mysterious Employer. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MysteriousEmployer Though the trope is used in Neuromancer, I don’t think there’s a Mr Johnson name handed out. Certainly that page doesn’t indicate such, and the Lit section doesn’t list other cyberpunk books. That in itself doesn’t definitively mean it was never used in any formative cyberpunk book – I mean, Into the Shadows was pretty formative to me – but it’s something.
Johnson is the second most common last name in the US, and common in parts of Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson
The Shadowrun wikia page lists some other common surnames you could go with. http://shadowrun.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Johnson
Smith is the most common one in the US right now.