Gordon Frohman is the anti-hero and titular protagonist of the Half-Life 2 webcomic Concerned: The Half-Life and Death of Gordon Frohman in which was a parody of the Half-Life series. His name is a reference to that of the heroic Gordon Freeman, the main protagonist of the Half-Life franchise. He was created by Christopher C Livingston.
History
Gordon Frohman had worked at the Black Mesa Research Facility before the Black Mesa Incident. He was in charge of delivering the sample to the test chamber, which would cause the Black Mesa Incident and cause the earth to be invaded by aliens. Its hinted Frohman was at fault for this as he delivered cheese instead of the proper sample.
Frohman follows a much similar path through City 17 as Gordon Freeman did in Half-Life 2.
Gordon Frohman could be considered villainous because although incompetent, he idolized the alien dictators known as the Combine and liked their leader Wallace Breen and spent half the comic wanting to become one of the Combine but to no avail. He also attempted to sell out the resistance and in an attempt to save Wallace Breen tried to kill Gordon Freeman, but due to his stupidity (trying to come up with a one liner) the citadel was destroyed.
At the climax it was revealed he had been using a cheat code "buddha" which meant his health wouldn't drop below 1, explaining how he survived many awful accidents such as explosions, being exposed to toxic waste, implated several times and even turned into a zombie. Gordon deactivates the cheat, and later passes away from his injuries.
Trivia
- Despite fan speculation, Christopher C Livingston has stated many times that Gordon Frohman is dead, this is even highlighted at the end of the comments when rebels confirm that he is defiantly dead.
- There was plans for a possible prequel comic for Concerned which would of shown flashbacks to Gordon Frohman's time at the Black Mesa Research Facility but this didn't go ahead. However a couple of comics have depicted Frohman at Black Mesa. In these short flashbacks he still appears exactly the same as in present time (despite it taking place 20 years before Half-Life 2) and even wearing the same clothes.
- A follow up comic titled Concerned 2: A Concerned Rip-Off: The Continuing Adventures of Gordon Frohman by Norman N. Black was created continuing the adventures of Frohman and taking place during the events of Half-Life 2: Episode One. However as of November 2010, no more comics have been made.