It's said during the game that Markus was "modified by Kamski" to be a gift for Carl. When you go to Kamski's apartment you can see Carl's art there, so they obviously had a close relationship. So yeah, part of Markus is completely unexplained and possibly one of a kind by Kamski.
Okay, so I'll be the first to admit that I find everything about Markus fascinating, but!!!!
1) Why does Markus have a black panel on the back of his head? Because he's a prototype?
2) Sorta old news now but he also has RX700 NOT RK200 stamped on that panel!
3) What is that star shape behind his right ear????
4) Also androids have processors that look like especially like brains?? I haven't looked at all the android models but are all the androids casings translucent like Markus' is here???
5) Not pictured here but Markus also has two divots on his bottom lip that no other android has that we see???
Two years ago YS_ASCVM found a (now-deleted) animator's showcase video that included a never-before-seen Connor animation where he grabs his collar with both hands for a moment in panic as he's freezing in the garden.
Gif via YS_ASCVM.
I somehow only saw this for the first time last night and after failing to find it myself asked dragonbane0 who of course found it in under 30 minutes and posted a video showcasing the difference.
youtube
This body animation is actually the original mocap data from "s11M15GardenGoodConnor", the garden escape sequence that plays if Markus is alive and Connor deviated on Jericho, so it was exactly what Bryan was doing with his hands on set at the same time he was delivering his "There's got to be a way" line. I guess maybe due to the slight awkwardness of it or the hand clipping through the jacket they completely replaced that body animation with a different one, but kept his face animation.
The movements make sense as a kind of desperate, unconscious thing as he is thinking of how he could escape the garden. Mostly it's just more evident fear, and is not out of line at all with the rest of Connor's awkward mannerisms. Of course Bryan wasn't wearing a dress shirt or anything like it on set, so it was probably just him pressing his closed fists against his collarbone with his arms tucked in, but in the game engine on Connor's model it does definitely come across as if he is grabbing his shirt collar out of some self-soothing instinct.
dragonbane has way more knowledge than I do about sequences, but I will definitely mess with this later myself to try and get it rendering in the engine with the original mocap and record some alternate angles, maybe with the blizzard removed so you can see the raw animation better.
If you think about this move, it shows how much the RK android series has upgraded since the RK200 to the RK800.
The fact that Connor has the technique and strength to literally lift and roll up to Markus back and up afterwards throwing him to the ground (as if Markus was not heavy at all) speak volumes about Cyberlife having a clear idea about the RK line of androids being the "military models".
Idea reinforce by the existence of the RK900 and the president having purchased a lot (I do mean A LOT) for military use and operations.
Now, this is a dumb thing to fixate on but if Connor goes deviant, it's almost like Markus is saying 'the ship' but if Connor stays a machine, Markus definitely says 'shit'.
Now, it's probably just that Jesse Williams just didn't enunciate 'shit' properly the first time, but I don't know, I just found the difference amusing. Also, it just tickles me when the androids swear XD
Got my life sized 1:1 bust of Connor today and i was hyped into a series of modification ive planned for months, painted his LED night glowing, replaced the infiltrate outfit with RK800 uniform i bought elsewhere long ago.
the jacket is a little oversized, so downsizing (as well as RK900 upgrade, final photoshooting, etc) will be arranged ❤
I don’t answer questions about it on the maker’s behalf, if you have any, please consult fantasytoysbusts.com
One (if not) the most appealing things about Connor it's that you can REALLY choose his path.
While Kara it's there to just take care of a child, and Markus to spark a Revolution, Connor it's the only one who can be the best or the worse, and anything in between.
It's amazing that, even though he's a RK200, Markus still seems to do the blinking eyes (just like Connor, RK800) when processing and unexpected information.
Markus' expression when he and Simon reunite post-Stratford.
There's so much emotion there, but it's difficult to see in the game, so I had to get a video of it super zoomed in and brightened. I personally see a mixture of deep processing and shame. I'm super curious about differing interpretations. What emotions do you see?