Why is Gordon Freeman recognized as a legendary hero in Half Life 2?

Question

Gordon Freeman disappeared at the end of Half Life 1 for several years. His exploits in Black Mesa were witnessed by very few people, most of whom likely died when the site was later nuked. Most of his fights were not even witnessed by anyone, and even when he did have company, it didn't last very long. Maybe some of the staff could even have held him responsible for the resonance cascade.

Anyway, how did he end up being regarded as a legendary hero by the time he shows up in Half Life 2 ?

Did the "G-Man" pull some strings? Otherwise I assume that the resistance just needed a legend for inspiration, and they happened to choose Gordon. If they listened in to the radio chatter of the marines (I doubt many survived even if they did manage to listen in), they would know how much of a fight he managed to put up. However, this is just my speculation...

Answer 1

At the start of Half-Life 2, only Black Mesa survivors know your (Gordon's) exploits in the first game. It's only after the raid on Nova Prospekt where you attain legendary status among the greater population, and a lot of that fame would come from the need for heroes in a war.

As for Black Mesa survivors, although most would have perished, there were a few that either know you well or have witnessed your exploits. In particular:

• Isaac Kleiner and Eli Vance both know you well, and based on character model similarities, they may have been the scientists who briefed you on the resonance cascade experiment.
• Barney Calhoun, who both survived and owes you a beer. Being the star of Half-Life: Blue Shift, he

led a small band of scientists to safety via teleportation at the end of the game. Barney also personally witnesses Gordon on a few key occasions.

• Vortigaunts. There's certainly plenty that witnessed you on Xen and probably know you killed the Nihilanth, and the survivors joined the resistance and would have spread legends about you. As for why they are friendly to you to the point of reverence (despite greeting them with shotgun blasts in the first game), it is explained through an Easter egg in HL2 that

the Nihilanth enslaved the Vortigaunts, and whose death by your hands effectively ended their generations of bondage.

Although the disaster events arguably started with Gordon, he could be excused because the events could not have been foreseen, and single-handedly stopping the Xen invasion is no small feat. The Nova Prospekt raid, which was supposedly impregnable, would have cemented Gordon's reputation.

Answer 2

When you first arrive in City 17, no-one really seems to recognise you - until you start running into some of the staff from Black Mesa that would have personally known Gordon.

It's only later, after you've made proper contact with the resistance, that more people start to recognise you. Being in the HEV suit possibly helps (notice that no-one else seems to be wearing on of these in the whole game).