Since everyone's giving theories...

[jerkasaur]

What if G-man's just Gordon's imagination?
i mean the poor man's just under so much pressure.

you are most likely to ask:
"wtf are you talking about? you see g-man talking to scientists and that colonel in hl2"

yes, that's what you see as gordon, but it's not like any of the scientists or even cubbage comes and says: "omg i just talked to this really weird man i've never seen before omg!!!111one i came" now is it? they never mention him.
"what about the time he hold Gordon in statis?"

well, just because Gordon was in statis it doesn't mean g-man put him there, in HL2 there's a gap of one week without anyone holding you in statis, so why can't there be a 10 year gap?
"well then what about G-man holding time?"

i'd say he didn't. that slowing down thing, it's all because of the explosion and Gordon thinking with himself. it's like when you're about to die and everything flashes behind your eyes shit. there's not much he can o about the explosion, so as he's getting uncountious, he dreams of G-man talking to him and holding time and shit.

i'd say it's all in his imagination...
Criticize me, i'd like to know how far i could go on with this theory.

 

[Darkside55]

Alyx sees him.
Barney sees him.
Adrian Shepherd sees him.

The chances of four people seeing the same figment without sharing this information between each other are impossible.

 

[jerkasaur]

Sheperd and barney are under the same pressure that Gordon is, AND how come barney never mentions g-man?.. let's just say Valve Didn't want to make 3 imaginationary characters look different.
where does alyx see g-man? i haven't played ep1 yet, waiting to get it with OB..

 

[Apocalypse89]

Not to mention Nihilanth's and Breen's vague references to him.

EDIT: Also, Gordon sees the G-Man 2 times before the resonance cascade when he has no pressure on him aside from being late to work, and the only time Barney sees G-Man is also before the RC.

 

[Asknoone]

Eli knows him. Theory debunked.

 

[Absinthe]

The theory breaks down about ten minutes into the first game when you see him conversing with another scientist. I know you're trying to paint this as "Well, maybe you're imagining that too!", but no. I guess that big room of aliens he teleports you to if you piss him off is also imaginary?

This isn't St. Elsewhere. Just because people have yet to make explicit references to him doesn't mean he might not be real. It just means he's an incognito bastard. When time starts slowing down and he yanks you into stasis, you can be sure that it's real. When he's interacting with vortigaunts either on a TV screen or in the abyss of the cosmos (Ep1 intro), be rest assured that they are not warding off a figment of your imagination. Why even make a character like this? Why, in the middle of a dystopian sci-fi epic, would you give the player an imaginary friend? What purpose does he serve? If he's just some shit that's made up, what impact could he possibly have on the game? Other than dicking around fans.

If you're going to question the existence of the G-Man, you're opening up a pandora's box that would eventually lead to further absurdities like "What if the Combine aren't aliens and Gordon is actually a schizophrenic that's killing real-life police?".

 

[jerkasaur]

Eli knows him

he does? where does he say that?
i should really have alzheimer's if i've seen all this before...

EDIT:

If you're going to question the existence of the G-Man, you're opening up a pandora's box that would eventually lead to further absurdities like "What if the Combine aren't aliens and Gordon is actually a schizophrenic that's killing real-life police?".

i actually lol'ed at that.

maybe i should just play ep1 and ep2 before giving any further theories...

 

[Absinthe]

Gonna repost something I made way back.

-No time travel.
-No Gordon = G-Man.
-No G-Man being Gordon's father.
-No heaven/hell or biblical crap.
-No dreams.

 

[Asknoone]

he does? where does he say that?
i should really have alzheimer's if i've seen all this before...

It's like. Right there in HL2 and EP1.

 

[Darkside55]

Not to mention Nihilanth's and Breen's vague references to him.

Until a representative of Valve tells me otherwise, I'm gonna keep saying that Nihilanth is NOT talking about the G-man with that stupid line.

 

[ríomhaire]

Breen references him. Shephard sees him. B. Calhoun sees him. Gina and Collett see him. He resets a nuclear bomb.

 

[Absinthe]

He resets a nuclear bomb.

Pre-emptive: "OMG WTF GEARBOX NO ASSHOLES CANON **** GOD DAMN NO OMG RACE X"

 

[Darkside55]

Now why did you have to go and do that? What could you possibly have gained from saying those words? Now I have to put you down on the list. I don't like having to put people down on the list; it's not a lucrative or fulfilling part of my job. But the list exists, and as long as it exists, I have a duty. And the list only remains as long as people keep saying those words. Those words bring nothing but misery and death, and yet people keep perpetrating them.

*Shakes his head and pens in "Absinthe"*

And the nuke is canon. Laidlaw wrote that in himself.

 

[Narvi]

Bastard stole my theory!

If you want my actual theory however, here it is.

Gman is an interdimensional being looking to **** over other interdimensional beings like the Advisors and Nihilanth via subtle manipulation; "The right man in the wrong place", as it were. He cannot face the Advisors or Nihilanth directly because they are capable of countering his abilities in the higher blah blah dimensions. Notice he only ever rescued Gordon in cases of extreme quantum; after a super-powerful portal-bending alien exploded, and after the Citadel exploded.

The Vortigaunts have a hive mind similar to the power held by the uber aliens and can counter him. His true form is obviously not his business-suited human face.