Hall of Heroes

"Tin soldiers don't fight wars… Men do!"

- Message from Cornelius Slate, written above the rotunda entrance

The Hall of Heroes is a location in BioShock Infinite. It is a museum dedicated to several of the historical events that have affected Columbia. Booker and Elizabeth initially arrive at the Hall in search of the Shock Jockey Vigor in order to power the gondola to the First Lady's Aerodrome in Soldier's Field.

The Hall of Heroes is home to displays of historical events such as the Wounded Knee Massacre and the Boxer Rebellion, as well as a memorial to Lady Comstock. As with many of the attractions in Soldier's Field, the Hall of Heroes serves as an elaborate propaganda piece, reinventing history to extol Columbia and its leader, Zachary Hale Comstock. It features racist caricatures of Chinese citizens and Native Americans, and exhibits demonizing the Vox Populi.

When Booker and Elizabeth first reach the Hall of Heroes, it has been overtaken by Captain Cornelius Slate and his men, a rogue band of soldiers who have been erased in Comstock's presentation of history. Booker and Elizabeth are forced to fight their way through the Hall to get to Slate, battling soldiers, Zealots, Motorized Patriots and Firemen.

Plaza
The main Plaza surrounds the outside of the Hall of Heroes. A statue of Columbia stands in the center, and to one side is a maintenance room, with a gate powered by Shock Jockey. The main building has a gigantic statue of Zachary Hale Comstock, which towers above the plaza. When Booker and Elizabeth arrive, the statue in the center has been vandalized by Slate's comrades, who have also changed the sign to say "Hall of Whores".

Main Hallway
A Motorized Patriot stands in the center of the main entrance (in front of another vandalized sign) which leads to the ticket booth. The ticket seller and several other workers have already been slain at the hands of Slate's troops. A statue of Comstock with a plaque that reads "Our Prophet, Father Comstock, Commander of the 7th Cavalry" stands in the following room. Other statues that have either been torn down or have the word "TIN" scrawled on them in red paint stand in the same room. A storage room to one side has a dismantled statue of Slate, along with several collectible items, including a few lockpicks, a silver Bar, and an Infusion. Then comes the rotunda, with the entrances to the exhibits depicting significant events of the history of Columbia. When the player enters the room with Comstock's statue, a gate closes behind them, preventing them from exiting the Hall of Heroes.

City of Columbia Historical Timeline
In the entryway of the Hall of Heroes stands a circular monument detailing the timeline of events important to the history of Columbia. Such events include the museum's two exhibited battles, the launch of Columbia, the murder of Lady Comstock, and the birth of the Lamb.

Boxer Rebellion
"'Twas yellow skin and slanted eyes that did betray us with their lies. Until they crossed the righteous path of our Prophet's holy wrath."

- Motorized Patriot

"COMSTOCK WASN'T THERE! The Boxers took my eye and thirty of my friends! Is there even a stone to mark that sacrifice?"

- Cornelius Slate

The Boxer Rebellion exhibit displays snowy mountain scenery among the city of Beijing, lined with cut-out caricatures of Chinese Boxers. The Chinese are portrayed with yellow skin and squinting eyes, along with sharp, claw-like fingernails and an evil "attack" gesture. Midway through the exhibit stands a statue of a Boxer soldier decapitating an American woman. The exhibit ends in a large room with a statue of Zachary Comstock, draped in the American flag, laying down and aiming a Hand Cannon while surrounded by hordes of Boxer soldiers. In the background stands a mural of Columbia, both as a city and the Archangel.

Battle of Wounded Knee
"With hue and cry, with hatchet red, they danced amongst our noble dead. But when our soldiers took the field, the savage horde could only yield."

- Motorized Patriot

"Tell, her, Booker! Tell her how we strode that battlefield like the heroes of Sparta! I still hear the screams… Does Comstock?"

- Cornelius Slate

The Battle of Wounded Knee exhibit displays cut-out caricatures of violent Native Americans murdering American soldiers. The Native Americans are portrayed with dark red skin and bloody marks on their faces, in an attacking position with either a tomahawk or bow and arrow. Bright lights and recorded Indian chants are present throughout the area.

Near the middle of the exhibit, a statue shows two Native Americans holding a woman hostage while aiming a tomahawk at her; another statue shows a Native American holding her scalp while the woman lays on the floor. The exhibit ends in a tribal field with a statue of Comstock, holding his Bird's Eye while surrounded by a horde of Native Americans on horseback with bows drawn. In the background is an image of George Washington dressed in a toga, holding a sword.

First Lady's Memorial
"You've seen what Comstock has done to my history. Now see how he's rewritten his own."

- Cornelius Slate

The First Lady's Memorial is the last exhibit accessible in the Hall of Heroes, and is entirely dedicated to Lady Comstock. The exhibit is comprised of several rooms, each featuring a different event in which Lady Comstock was a major player. The first room surrounds Lady Comstock giving birth to the Lamb through a miracle of God. The second depicts Zachary Comstock placing Elizabeth in the tower on Monument Island in order to protect her from dying at the hands of Vox Populi leader Daisy Fitzroy. The third features Lady Comstock's (supposed) murder by Fitzroy. The last room shows Zachary Comstock's vengeance as he chases off the Vox Populi, who fall into Hell.

Courtyard
Elizabeth manages to slip through the bars of the locked gate, but Booker is too broad to fit through. Fortunately, though, a freight hook brought in through a Tear allows Booker to jump over the gate. The Courtyard is a wide open space with a balcony above it. The staircases on both sides have been demolished, cutting off access to that part of the balcony. Below are two doors powered by Shock Jockey. One leads to a storage room, while the other is a hallway leading back to the Vengeance of Comstock room. At the top of the balcony is another door leading into a small hallway. After Booker dispatches the rogue soldiers and the Gun Automaton in the Courtyard, he then proceeds down the hall leading to the Gift Shop.

Gift Shop
The Gift Shop at the very end of the museum has souvenirs for the guests. Four glass cases containing Motorized Patriots in Comstock's likeness line up near the entrance. In the center of the room is a cashier's counter, with souvenirs for the Wounded Knee Massacre and Boxer Rebellion to the right and left. A Motorized Patriot with George Washington's likeness escapes from a fifth glass case and starts firing at Booker with a Peppermill Crank Gun. After Booker defeats the clockwork terminator, he and Elizabeth investigate a locked door to one side of the room.

Backtracking
"It was SLATE who killed for his country at Wounded Knee! It was SLATE who stormed the gates of Peking! SLATE!!!"

- Cornelius Slate

After unlocking the door, Booker opens the crate to find it's been emptied. Then, Elizabeth notices the footprints leading from the room back the way they had come. They see clusters of Shock Jockey crystals that weren't there before, which shocked Booker if he stepped on or between them. Upon entering the Courtyard, the two take notice of the gunships and realize that Comstock's troops have come to clear out Cornelius Slate's men. Then, Slate himself appears and throws down a batch of Shock Jockey traps, all the while taunting Booker and ranting about how Comstock had taken away his past. The remainder of Slate's soldiers throw themselves at Booker in a suicidal frenzy. Booker takes them out, along with a Fireman and another Motorized Patriot. When Booker enters the long hallway at one end of the Courtyard, Slate throws one final cluster of traps as a few more soldiers rush at him. After a brief battle, Booker finds Slate crumpled on the ground in the Vengeance of Comstock room. As Booker reaches for the Vigor, Slate stops him and demands that Booker end his life. After Booker makes his decision, he picks up the Shock Jockey bottle and drinks from it, gaining the power. Booker and Elizabeth start heading back toward the entrance, facing off against the last fragment of Slate's troops, including a Crow. When they reach the entrance, Booker uses the newly acquired Shock Jockey to power the conduit and open the gate that had sealed behind them before.

Alternate Hall of Heroes
Booker and Elizabeth enter a reality in the Bull House Impound, where the Vox Populi already have Chen Lin's weapons and the revolution is at full-blow. After being recognized as "the hero of the Vox" by a Vox member and seeing a poster of himself depicted as martyr, the memories from the Booker DeWitt in this universe is merged with this Booker DeWitt's: In this universe Booker didn't find Elizabeth in Monument Tower and learned from the Vox-allied Slate that she was taken to Comstock House. Booker joined forces with Slate, the Vox, and burned down the Hall of Heroes.

New Vigors

 * Shock Jockey

New Weaponry

 * Peppermill Crank Gun

New Enemies

 * Cornelius Slate
 * Slate's Soldiers
 * Motorized Patriot

Voxophones

 * 1) Cornelius Slate - Comrades of Necessity
 * 2) Lady Comstock - Unconditional
 * 3) Cornelius Slate - A Soldier's Death

Kinetoscopes

 * 1) The Lamb is the Future of the City
 * 2) Behold the Miracle Child! A Prophecy is Fulfilled!
 * 3) A City Mourns

Bugs/Glitches

 * When Booker walks up to the gate in the Boxer Rebellion exhibit before it fully opens and Elizabeth gets there, the background music will stop playing.
 * Upon exiting the ticket booth, two enemies will arrive. After these enemies are shot down, no more enemies will arrive, Slate will not appear, and Booker will be stuck in the Hall of Heroes.

Behind the Scenes

 * The decor in the Boxer Rebellion display was designed by Laura Zimmerman.
 * The song that plays in the Hall of Heroes Plaza is "The Bonnie Blue Flag", a song from the American Civil War.
 * The Hall of Heroes is similar to the Hall of Presidents in Walt Disney World.
 * In an alternate universe (the third Columbia), DeWitt and Slate burn down the Hall of Heroes, but perish, thus earning martyrdom.
 * There is the corpse of a Vox Populi sniper on the balcony of the Hall of Heroes.
 * The first patriot encountered in the Hall of Heroes does not partake in combat. As a result, it is missing any mechanical apparatus on its back. However, if the player shoots it in the back, cogs and sparks fly from it anyway.