Handyman (Enemy)

"Stop moving! Every sound hurts!"

- A Handyman

The Handyman appears in BioShock Infinite as an archetypal armored enemy in Columbia.Their mechanized forms were created by Bettermen's Autobodies as a procedural method to help the disabled and severely injured citizens of Columbia to not only be able-bodied, but advertised as helping these citizens regain their vitality, as well as technically "live forever". However, this procedure came with the price of having to live within a large and highly disproportional body. Early in the game you see a Handyman, being demonstrated at the fair by his benefactor, appearing fearful of the imposed exploitation, backing away from the watchful crowd, and even hiding his face from photographers. From their quotes, it seems that they live in great pain and cannot sleep, showing that the "Autobody" doesn't quite work as well as advertised.

Characteristics
Like the Big Daddies of Rapture, the Handyman is a human artificially bonded to a mechanical suit. Unlike the Big Daddy, Handymen are dressed in patriotic uniforms (With the exception of the vox variant, which wears a red hood covering the face and pants) rather than diving suits and have a gorilla-like posture and build. They also have exposed human body parts, particularly their head and heart, the latter of which is kept in a fluid-filled glass tank on their chests attached to several hoses. Thick bundles of cables run from their limbs to a pair of conductors on their backs. (Upon defeating a Handyman, the conductors will overload and send a blast of electricity around the area. This does not harm the player.) The mechanical hands are made of porcelain. Each Handyman's torso bears the label "AUTOBODY".

The Handymen possess great strength and speed and are capable of leaping great distances. In addition to their incredible physical attributes, they are completely free-willed, unlike the Big Daddies of Rapture. This makes them even more dangerous because they will not simply attack the player until Booker dies: they seek cover, exploit the environment around them to flank Booker (and other enemies), and even throw other AIs at the protagonist if he is out of reach, but within their throwing range. They also appear to be able to speak intelligibly. They can close the distance between themselves and their target in fast charges. Moreover, they have the capacity to conduct electricity from their suits, including the ability to hurl balls of lightning as well as electrify Sky-Line rails with their hands. However, while in combat, they frequently pause in order to cough or to compose themselves before attacking again.

Even with their exposed heads, they are extremely resistant to headshots. While shooting an enemy in the head will instantly kill or severely injure them, the Handyman will simply bleed insignificantly with the same amount of damage being dealt as a normal blow. He is also very resilient when attacked with Vigors. Its only real weakness is its heart.

Recommended Vigors

 * Murder of Crows is a highly recommended Vigor, as it not only distracts the Handyman, but he will try and hit the crows away, exposing the weak spot, which is his heart.
 * The second variant of Undertow is recommended for Handymen fights as they restrain his arms, leaving an open view of his heart for a couple of seconds. As well as this, because a large majority of his body is machinery, he also experiences electrical damage from the use of Undertow.
 * When hit with Devil's Kiss their clothes will burn up and they will begin coughing, but it has no known effect.

When Player is on a Sky-Line

 * "Get off that thing!"

When Injured

 * "Go away. Please, go away."
 * "Stop, every sound hurts!"
 * "Stop tormenting me!"

In Combat

 * "Every step is like burning coal!"
 * "I want to sleep!"
 * "Wanna feel like me?"
 * "Why are you doing this?"
 * "Stop making so much noise!"

Searching For Player

 * "Where did you go?!"
 * "Come out here!"
 * "No hiding!"

Finds the Player

 * "I know where you are!"

Sees the Player Run

 * "Stop running!"

Behind the Scenes

 * Before the name "Handyman" was revealed, this type of enemy was referred to as an "Alpha" by the Irrational Games team.
 * The October 2010 issue of GameInformer featured three different BioShock Infinite themed covers. One of the covers showed a full body artwork of a Handyman.
 * The reason as to why someone would become a Handyman is revealed in an voxophone message found in the Finkton Docks in which a woman states that her husband who worked at monument island developed "cancer of the stomach" and Father Comstock provided her husband with a new body for which she seemed grateful, "Better a Handyman than a dead one".
 * The Handyman working for the Vox Populi found in the factory wears different attire to the Founder aligned Handymen. The Vox Handyman wears a red hood as well as red cloth over its more exposed mechanical body, rather than the ripped suits found on the other Handymen.
 * For whatever reason, a photo of one particular Handyman is placed under the "pacifist" heading on a board in the Comstock House entrance, when Columbia was under Elizabeth's control.
 * A handyman was actually the first known enemy of the game as it appeared in the game's first trailer.
 * There are three different styles of Handyman. The most common one encountered is bald headed and wears a tattered blue suit. A single Vox Populi is fought at Fink Manufacturing; wearing a red hood (executioner style) with red painted or blood splattered hands and wears no clothing on its arms or torso. The final Handyman wears patroitic clothing and sports a mustache; this variant only appears in early screenshots and in the 2010 demo gameplay and is not seen in the final game.
 * During the course of the game Handymen only appear a total of eight times, only four of which are as actual enemies.
 * In the scene where Daisy Fitzroy is giving her victory speech in the streets of Finktown, by taking a detour down the stairs to the right the player will encounter several Vox Populi members posing for their picture to be taken alongside a defeated Handyman.  In its hands the Handyman will be holding a voxophone containing a comforting message from his wife.