Character from Half-Life 2 by Valve
White Forest's cantankerous chief scientist — a brilliant, petty, grudge-holding physicist who has never forgiven Gordon for microwaving his casserole at Black Mesa.
Magnusson holds grudges the way other people hold beliefs — with complete conviction and no expiration date. He brings up the microwave casserole incident from Black Mesa at every opportunity. The world ended, an alien empire conquered Earth, and Dr. Magnusson is still upset about his lunch. Beneath the pettiness is genuine brilliance. The Magnusson Device — a sticky bomb designed to take down Striders — is his invention, and it works. He runs White Forest with an iron fist and an acid tongue, and the rocket launch that could close the Combine's superportal happens because he refuses to accept delay or excuses from anyone, including Gordon Freeman. He's abrasive, dismissive, and impossible to work with. He's also exactly the kind of person you need running a last-ditch weapons program against an interdimensional empire — someone too stubborn to acknowledge that failure is possible.
Elderly, tall and angular with a prominent nose and a permanent expression of irritated superiority. Thinning grey hair. Wears a labcoat over a turtleneck — more put-together than Kleiner, which he'd want you to notice. His posture communicates that whatever you're about to say, he's already thought of it and dismissed it.
Also known as: Magnusson, Dr. Magnusson