List of meanings of mission names

This list contains all mission names in the Hitman series whose names are cultural references, double entendres or have dual meanings otherwise.

Hitman: Codename 47

Mission	Meaning
The Massacre at Cheung Chau Fish Restaurant	Possibly a reference to The Golden Dragon massacre, a gang-related shooting attack that took place on September 4, 1977 in San Francisco.
Say Hello to My Little Friend	References a famous quote by the main character (Tony "Scarface" Montana) while he's under attack in the 1983 film Scarface, whom Pablo Belisario Ochoa is also based on.
The Setup	The ICA finds out every assassination Agent 47 was performing was a setup by Dr. Ort-Meyer.
Meet Your Brother	Should be taken quite literally, as 47 will meet ten clones ("Brothers") of him in this mission.

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Mission	Meaning
The Gontranno Sanctuary	The church is named after St. Gontran. He is the patron saint of divorced people, guardians, and repentant murderers.
Anathema	Anathema is a transgression worthy of excommunication from the Church. In this case Agent 47's first murder after coming out of retirement.
Tubeway Torpedo	Torpedo is slang for a Russian hitman.
The Graveyard Shift	A graveyard shift is a shift of work at night or in the early morning, especially one from midnight until 8 am.
Tunnel Rat	Tunnel rats were American, Australian and New Zealand soldiers who performed search and destroy missions through tunnel systems during the Vietnam War.

Hitman: Blood Money

Mission	Meaning
Death of a Showman	References playwright Arthur Miller's 1949 play Death of a Salesman.
A Vintage Year	A vintage wine is one made with grapes from only a single year, often denoting quality. Additionally, vintage year is a term used in the private equity and venture capital industries to describe the year in which a firm first began making investments.
Curtains Down	Curtains down describes the ending of a stage play, when the stage curtains are drawn to conceal the stage.
Flatline	Refers to an electrocardiogram, a device to show heartbeat, with no activity (a flat line) indicating the person is dead. This ties into the plot of the mission, to give Agent Smith a fake cardiac arrest.
The Murder of Crows	The collective noun for a group of crows is murder.
You Better Watch Out…	References the 1934 Christmas song Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.
Death on the Mississippi	References Agatha Christie's 1937 detective fiction novel Death on the Nile, featuring Hercule Poirot as the protagonist. It may also be a reference to Mark Twain's 1883 memoir Life on the Mississippi, which recounts his time as a crew member on a steamboat.
Till Death Do Us Part	A phrase from the Christian marriage liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer. A variant common in the United States, the phrase is most commonly known as Till death us do part.
A House of Cards	Any structure built using exclusively standard playing cards; they are rarely stable and will often fall over. More generally, it refers to any unstable situation or arrangement.
A Dance with the Devil	To do something immoral without question. Possible reference to the Joker's quote from Batman (1989): "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
Amendment XXV	The twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which explicitly states that the vice president takes over should the president die in office.

Hitman: Absolution

Mission	Meaning
Death Factory	Possibly a reference to the 2002 horror film Death Factory.
Fight Night	Refers to any night on which a boxing, MMA or other combat sporting event is scheduled to take place.
Blackwater Park	Possibly a reference to the 2001 album of the same name by Swedish band Opeth.

HITMAN™

Mission	Meaning
The Showstopper	A showstopper is a performance or segment of a theatrical production that induces a positive audience reaction strong enough to pause the production.
World of Tomorrow	Refers to the DNA Specific Virus that could potentially change the world, if Ether releases its virus prototype all over the planet. More generally, it refers to changes brought about by scientific and technological progress, as befitting a science-themed level.
A Gilded Cage	Refers to being trapped in paradise. Living in luxury but lacking freedom and happiness due to circumstances of being in the cage.
A House Built on Sand	A reference to the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders from the Gospel of Matthew. It refers to an unsafe, unstable creation, either physical or metaphorical.
Club 27	Named after the 27 Club, the theory that an unusual number of popular musicians have died at age 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, or violent means such as homicide or suicide.
Freedom Fighters	References the 2003 video game of the same name, also developed by IO Interactive. The title is also ironic, referring to the phrase "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" which plays upon the perception the Militia has of themselves not as terrorists but as heroes.
Situs Inversus	Named after the Situs inversus medical disorder, in which the organs of the patient are mirrored or in reverse order.
Landslide	Named after the phrase "winning by a landslide" that happens in a Landslide victory, which receives the overwhelming majority of votes from one party or candidate.
Patient Zero	A Patient Zero is a person identified as the first to become infected with an illness or disease in an outbreak, in this case Owen Cage with the Nabazov virus.

HITMAN™ 2

Mission	Meaning
The Finish Line	Reaching the end of one's goals. Another ironic title, as Sierra's death will usually involve stopping her from reaching it
Three-Headed Serpent	References the Lernaean Hydra from Greek and Roman mythology, a multi-headed serpentine monster that regrew two heads when one was removed.
Embrace Of The Serpent	References the Colombian 2015 film of the same name, which also deals with themes of colonialism.
Chasing A Ghost	A pun on "Chasing Ghosts", meaning to go after someone elusive for information. The primary target, Wazir Kale, who remains elusive from the start of the mission, so much so that he was considered as a ghost, ever since he came back to his hometown of Mumbai.
Illusions Of Grandeur	A pun on the phrase "Delusions of grandeur", which is a mental state that diagnoses that the patient feels very powerful or wealthy for no reason, when they're not. The word "illusion" refers to a magician who plays tricks on people with clever sleight-of-hand and spectacle.
Another Life	References a mission from Hitman: Blood Money, A New Life, which takes place in a middle-class American suburb and also involves an individual with a dark past living in apparently mundane surroundings. It also refers to the way in which 47's targets are living under assumed identities created in order to conceal them from pursuers.
The Ark Society	Refers to the Ark Society Organization founded by Janus in 1991. "Ark" refers to the massive biblical ship that carried Noah and specimens of the world's animals safely through a world-destroying flood.
Golden Handshake	A golden handshake is a clause in an executive employment contract that provides the executive with a significant severance package in the case that the executive loses their job through firing, restructuring, or even scheduled retirement, also deridedly called a "Golden Parachute".
The Last Resort	The last resort is a phrase meaning to do something when all other options have been exhausted, referring to Haven being the contingency plan for the Providence Partners. Also named to foreshadow a calm before the storm, as this is the literal last resort 47 will visit before the darker events of the third game
The Last Yardbird	This refers to Aleksander Kovak, the leader that hired a hit on his three closest friends. The last surviving Yardbird gets all the money they have combined together.
The Pen and the Sword	The pen is mightier than the sword is an adage indicating that free speech can be more powerful than violence, originating from Dr. Jose Rizal, a National Hero of the Philippines.
Crime and Punishment	References Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1866 novel of the same name.

HITMAN™ III

Mission	Meaning
On Top of the World	From the phrase "I'm on top of the world", and can also come to mean "I'm untouchable", depending on context. The name is chosen to represent the intended reaction of the player and 47, feeling that they riding an emotional high of victory as they begin to kill of the partners. It also refers to the partners themselves, who are the world's most powerful individuals. Finally, the title has a literal meaning, the Burj al Ghazali where the partners have retreated is described as the tallest building in the world.
Death in the Family	A triple entendre. The level is about three major deaths in two opposing families. The first being the murder of the target's brother Zachary Carlisle, which the Mission Story Means, Motive and Opportunity Third is centered around solving. The second being the objective of the level, to kill Alexa Carlisle as she returns to her family to tie up loose ends. Third and finally, it foreshadows the death of 47's brother Lucas Grey at the end of the mission
Apex Predator	An apex predator is an animal that occupies the top of the food chain in its environment, having no natural predators other than members of its own species. The level name, combined with the musical references to Jaws (1975) on this level, refers to 47 being characterized as a shark; an apex predator of its habitat.
End of an Era	Named after the phrase "It's an end of an era", denoting the significant milestone of something ending, in this case 47's partnership with the ICA, as well as the ICA itself as an organization.
The Farewell	Refers to a swansong, or last hurrah for something. In this case, referring to Don Archibald Yates farewell from being an Attorney, and a meta nod that this is the final sandbox level in the World of Assassination Trilogy.
Untouchable	The term "untouchable" is used repeatedly used throughout the World of Assassination trilogy to refer to powerful people who are beyond the reach of any legal or political authority, and therefore cannot be held accountable for their actions. Appropriately enough, 47's target in this level is isolated at the very opposite end of a a very long and heavily patrolled map.