Tim, also sometimes called Video Game Guy (and named Jimmy Cisco within his own reality), is the only villainous character/enemy to have been an antagonist to all three incarnations of The Misfits Gang. Tim was a highly disturbed individual who believed he was living within a video game, which for him was reality, and caused him to commit murder and mayhem around Norheim as natural progression through his "game".
First introduced searching for his nemesis "Conti" in full carnage mode in Series 2 Episode 4, Tim was responsible for numerous deaths including Ollie Smiley and Superhoodie/Future Simon. At the end of his debut episode, Tim was eventually arrested trying to break "Crazy Larry" out of prison, the "final level" in his own game.
Tim returned as a supporting character throughout Series 5, apparently having broken out of prison, and struggling to control his power and reject the "game world", he attends the Power Support Group where he befriends Rudy Two. Rudy Two puts an elastic band around Tim's wrist, which when snapped on his arm quickly brings him back to reality. When the band eventually snapped, Tim was lost to the game world one final time, and to save Rudy and Helen's lives, Tim was stabbed to death with a pair of scissors by a camouflaged Karen.
Biography
The Game
Little is revealed about Tim before The Storm, except that he was addicted to playing violent video games. When the storm hit, he was immersed in his favorite game, and the storm inflicted Tim with Video Game Hallucinations, effectively making the game indistinguishable from reality for Tim.
The game itself was apparently very similar to the "Grand Theft Auto" games (the game HUD and radar in Tim's vision is almost identical to GTA), with extensive criminal behavior, murder, vehicle theft and hit-and-runs of pedestrians; all committed for points and cash. Tim believes himself to be "Jimmy Cisco", the protagonist of the game, who, in the story of the game, was betrayed on his wedding day and left for dead by his brother and partner-in-crime, Conti. Conti took off with both their ill-gotten gains, £100,000, and and Tim's bride-to-be, Roxxy. After spending ten years in prison for armed robbery, Tim escaped to enact bloody revenge on Conti and Roxxy for being double-crossed, and anybody who would get in his way in getting back his £100,000. The penultimate mission of the game was being informed by "Fat Tony" that there is "an undercover cop in the organization", and and finally, at the tenth and final level, to break his other brother, "Crazy Larry", out of prison.
However, to Tim playing this out, the missions are stuck on an endless cycle. This has caused a cycle of murder, theft, carnage, and prison breaks in the real world, as Tim lives out his "game", forever seeking the end of the game but never getting there, and forever seeing himself and everybody around him as characters in his game.
Series 2
Upon meeting the Misfits, he accuses Simon (at Nathan's prompting) of being "Conti", a character from the game, and of stealing money from him. He also believes Kelly to be his ex, Roxxy, another game-character. When new-comer Ollie attempts to calm him down, Tim shoots him in the head, killing him and causing the rest of the group to flee.
After this Tim spends time trying to find "Conti", engaging in several violent acts along the way, such as running over an old lady in his car, believing it is only a game. Eventually he comes across Kelly and Alisha, kidnapping Kelly and holding her hostage, telling Alisha to tell "Conti" that he wants his £100,000. While Simon and the others rob an armored vehicle in order to give Tim what he wants, Tim forces Kelly to put on a wedding dress and drink wine with him. When the group arrives and gives Tim his money, rather than ceasing in his delusions as they hoped he would, he merely progresses to the 'next level' in his mind, now believing one of them to be an under-cover cop.
Stringing them all up on meathooks at The Warehouse, including Nikki, who accidentally teleported to the scene, he threatens Alisha with a chainsaw, only to be distracted by Nathan and Curtis, allowing Alisha to escape. Cornering her, Tim prepares to shoot her, only for Super Hoodie (Future Simon) to appear and take the bullet. When Superhoodie unmasks and claims to be the undercover cop, Tim loses interest in Alisha and goes in search of his next level objective. Afterwards, the present Simon reads in the paper that Tim has been arrested trying to break into a prison.
Series 5
Tim returns in the first episode of Series 5, having escaped prison as a "bonus level". He is now a member of the Power Support Group and is shown to be fighting the effects of his power when Rudy Two enters into the room. Tim initially sees him as a video game character, only to snap out the vision, suggesting that Tim has come to realize that the "game world" is not real, he has a little more control over it and wishes to return to reality. After one meeting, Tim approaches Rudy Two, showing a much more vulnerable side and asks him if they could meet up sometime and discuss his power, as he has difficulty suppressing it. Rudy Two sees Tim as a tragic figure and tells Tim that he will help him all he can.
He later meets up with Rudy One at The Bar, who is masquerading as Rudy Two, and reveals that he woke up that morning to find a duffle bag by his bed containing £100,000 and a loaded handgun. He doesn't know where they came from, and it is unclear whether he acquired them while hallucinating, or whether his power causes them to appear near him when he sleeps, in a similar manner to weapons appearing in the homes of Grand Theft Auto characters when they save their games. He starts to succumb to a hallucination and pulls a gun on Rudy One. Luckily, he has a rubber band around his arm that he snaps against his skin when he needs to ground himself in the real world and remember that he's hallucinating. Rudy snaps it, and, feeling the sudden pain, Tim returns to reality and puts the gun away.
At the party organized at the Community Centre in which the Misfits gang meet the Power Support Group (the one year anniversary of The Storm / Abby and Rudy Twos' joint first birthday party), Tim struggles to ground himself in reality, repeatedly snapping at his arm band. Tim's memories as "Jimmy Cisco" begin to return as he sits and listens to Finn talk about how "his best mate stole his girl" (Finn had just discovered that Rudy has been sleeping with his unrequited love Jess), which causes Tim to also reminisce about "Roxxy" being stolen from him by "Conti".
Furiously snapping at his arm band, it eventually snaps, leaving Tim lost to the game world for the final time. Tim then watches Rudy Two and Helen going into the rec room for sexual liaison, but Tim sees them as Conti and Roxxy and follows them in. Tim is about to shoot them dead, but they are saved by Karen. Karen was watching events unfold while camouflaged, and she stabs Tim from behind with a pair of scissors to save the others; Tim's last vision is that of his own bloody hands, and a "Game Over" screen. Rudy Two, Helen, Karen and Sam bury Tim's body under the overpass, after which Rudy Two reassures the others that Tim's death was a necessary one since he was out of control, and this this is their first step to them becoming the superheroes depicted on Maggie's Jumpers.
Quotes
Tim - "Where's Conti?" Nathan - "Oh that's him (pointing at Simon), he's a right Cunti".
Tim - "Did you think I was just gonna let it go? I want my money."
Tim - "CONTI!" - Shouting for his imaginary enemy around the estate.
Tim - "When I was in jail, I thought about you. I thought about you lying to me, stealing my money, screwing other men. I wanted to see you die" - Tim to Kelly, believing her to be "Roxxy".
Tim - "You think this is a game? *Shakes head* This is my life." To Alisha, right before trying to shoot her, but Superhoodie takes the bullet.
Tim - "I'm losing my mind again. Tell me what to do!" to Rudy Two at the Power Support Group.
Trivia
- Since Tim killed Future Simon/Superhoodie, Tim is a pivotal aspect of the Simon/Alisha relationship/eternal time-loop.
- Tim's death marked the beginning of Rudy Two's group of "real superheroes", the Jumper Posse, who would eventually go down a dark path.
- Tim's power reflects his addiction to video games.
- Tim appears to resemble Niko Bellic, the protagonist from the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV. Tim is the protagonist of the video game he perceives, much like Niko in GTA IV. This can be determined from the brightly colored nylon sweat suit which is an optional outfit in the game.
- Lettering on the rear of Tim's car spell "GTA" instead of "GTO" at its first glimpse.
- Both Tim's car and handgun in the real world are identical in appearance to the car driven and gun used by "Jimmy Cisco" in Tim's video game. This would suggest that Tim's power likely extends beyond mere hallucinations and he gains Video Game Constructs.
- According to Tim's vision, he gained "15 points" for shooting Ollie's head off, and "25 points" for running over an old lady in the street. The carnage he has caused is evident by the fact that, by the end of the first episode he appears in, Tim had already accrued 1,790 "points". However, it may be wrong to ascertain from this since it appears to fluctuate, just like Tim's progress and completion in the storyline of the "game".