Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars



A comic, television series and video game about a green rabbit (well, a hare) who fights to protect the Aniverse from the scourge of the evil Toad Empire. Created by Larry Hama, with help from Michael Golden and Neal Adams. It should not be confused with Jazz Jackrabbit or Star Fox.

"Air Marshal: I don't believe it! It was ray shielded and missile shielded! Frax: But not waterproof!"
 * Action Girl - Jenny and, to a lesser extent if only due to lack of screen time, Mimi LaFloo
 * Adorkable: Willy and Felicia.
 * Arch Enemy - The Toad Air Marshal sees himself as Bucky's, though really Bucky and Toadborg are a closer fit.
 * Adaptation Distillation - First a comic book, then the cartoon, then one video game, and finally a second one meant to end the series.
 * AI Is a Crapshoot - The main villain, Komplex, is a sentient computer program that the toads designed to run their planet. Naturally it turned evil, brainwashed them, and sent them on the warpath. All for no readily apparent reason other than "AI is evil." Even the benevolent android Blinky is reprogrammed by Toadborg in one episode to sabotage the ship, but Bucky and the gang keep him on anyway. Blinky's central programming fought back against Toadborg's control and actually managed to break free.
 * All There in the Manual - The name of Bucky's mysterious mentor, Damaron Jabok, is given in a promotional booklet for an abandoned second season and further toyline.
 * All There in the Script - The names of several characters and things, particularly:
 * Jeff and Mark (the other two bullies with Doug)
 * Bob (the gray hare in "Home, Swampy, Home")
 * Digger the mole's surname, McSquint.
 * Willy's mother's first name, "Sunshine."
 * The Iron Vulture (the Corsair Canards' pirate ship)
 * Dr. Wartimer and Dr. Croakley (the other two toad scientists who created Komplex)
 * Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Bucky has green fur.
 * Artificial Limbs - Kamikaze Kamo's lower arms are both cybernetic.
 * Awesome but Impractical - The toy version of the Toad Croaker. While in the show, games, and comic it was presented as more or less a one man recon vehicle, the toy was altered slightly to look like a left shoe, complete with treads on its bottom. The reason was so that kids would use it to smash it down onto Toad Trooper action figures, "stepping" on them... Needless to say the toads' own Double Bubble didn't come anywhere close to this level of awesome.
 * Awesome McCoolname: Many characters had these but Rumble Bee stands out.
 * Badass Boast: This is BRUISER, the Betelgeusian Berserker Baboon speaking! I'm unstoppable, unbeatable, and uncontrollable!
 * Badass Damsel: Jenny, to an extreme level. This was taken Up to Eleven in the episode "The Taking Of Pilot Jenny".
 * Batman Gambit - A beautiful one was used by the good guys in "The Taking of Pilot Jenny" which succeeded in freeing the captured planet Warren.
 * Berserk Button - Call Toadborg a robot. Double dare ya. Watch what happens. Oh, and don't insinuate that he was just a worker before being converted into a cyborg, rather than a warrior.
 * Alternatively, interfere with Bruiser's brother Bruce's attempts to return home and learn why they're called BERSERKER Baboons.
 * Big Bad - Komplex.
 * Big Damn Heroes - This kicks off the revelation of the Batman Gambit in "The Taking of Pilot Jenny" when, with the Righteous Crew seemingly at the mercy of K.O.M.P.L.E.X. and Toadborg, the ship they're all in is rocked by gunfire as the Indefatigable cuts through their stagnate defenses like a hot knife through butter.
 * Another one occurs in "Bye Bye Berserker Baboon." The Terror Toad, a monstrous amphibian warrior, has the heroes cornered. To make matters worse, unlike his brethren, he is not afraid of Berserker Baboons and looks like he could eat them like popcorn. Bucky O'Hare, injured in a failed attack on the monster, suddenly dives down and burrows through the ground away, escaping. Unable to believe they've been abandoned by their leader, the others are treated to the sight of their ship suddenly launching and flying away. The monster gets closer and closer as the Air Marshal cackles that he's finally beaten even the "Great Bucky O'Hare." Suddenly, the sound of rockets firing is heard and Bucky returns on the Toad Croaker. Turns out he just went out to the next planet over to snag several jars of the Aniverse's best tasting flies, with which he proceeds to lure the Terror Toad back to the Toad Mothership where it proceeds to tear the place apart.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy - Ostensibly the reason (most of) the toads are so willing to fight for Komplex.
 * When Blinky was captured by the toads and reprogrammed, this was the result on him when he was rescued by the Righteous.
 * The Big Guy - Big, lovable Bruiser.
 * Camp Gay - Captain Smada. The scary part is this may be unintentional.
 * Catfolk: Jenny and the residents of her home planet Aldebaran.
 * Chekhov's Gun - Actually, Willy's water gun, which is "confiscated" (read pilfered) by Deadeye in the second episode. It becomes VERY important to the crew when they're making their escape from the Toad Mothership. It's lampshaded later when the same tactic doesn't work a second time.
 * Chick Magnet: Bucky and Willy.
 * Child Prodigy - If Willy were not one of these, it's doubtful the show would have gotten past the first episode.
 * Cool Ship - At least Bucky's ship's name is easily the coolest in Western TV animation, the Righteous Indignation.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: When Jenny tried to use her psychic powers to defeat Toadborg, she quickly learned the hard way that machines aren't nearly as susceptible to her abilities as those who are completely organic.
 * Cute but Cacophonic: Felicia.
 * Cute Clumsy Girl: Felicia.
 * Cyber Cyclops - The one-eyed android Blinky.
 * Darker and Edgier - The webseries continuing this show most definitely dove into this area, for the better some would say.
 * Day in The Limelight - After "War of the Warts" every crew member of the Righteous Indignation got a least one episode in which to shine, sometimes two.
 * The Dragon - Toadborg, to Komplex.
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty: Bruiser falls into the role (or at least a kid-friendly version of it) quite easily, when he is a guest instructor at the Betelgeusian military academy. His mother is very proud of him.
 * Early Installment Weirdness - In the first three episodes, Frix and Frax have deep, gruff voices that actually make them sound somewhat tough. This is sharp contrast to all their other appearances where they have high, squeaky, whiny voices.
 * Empathy Doll Shot - In the Theme Song opening.
 * Also used in a flashback in the second episode.
 * The Empire - And one populated by amphibians no less.
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Bruiser's not evil, but he is a badass. And he loves his mother very much.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" - The Toad Air Marshal, even after Komplex fires him in one episode.
 * Everything's Better with Monkeys - Bruiser.
 * The Faceless - All of the human adults are shown from the neck down. The only humans whose faces we see are kids.
 * Faceless Goons - Pretty much all of the toads except for the Toad Air Marshal.
 * The Federation - The United Animal Security Council and its strong arm, S.P.A.C.E.
 * Fetish Fuel Station Attendant: Jenny, so very much.
 * First Girl Wins: It seems that Jenny is probably closer to Bucky than Mimi is.
 * First Guy Wins: This is averted with Deadeye's old girlfriend who chose to remain with her new boyfriend. Deadeye doesn't really mind this in the end.
 * Five-Bad Band:
 * The Big Bad: Komplex
 * The Dragon: Toadborg
 * The Evil Genius: Toad Air Marshal
 * The Brute: The Total Terror Toad
 * The Dark Chick: Frix and Frax
 * Five Episode Pilot - Okay a three episode one, but who's counting.
 * Five-Man Band -
 * The Hero - Bucky, naturally
 * The Lancer - Arguably Jenny and Deadeye fulfill this role together, depending on the situation.
 * The Smart Guy - Willy and Blinky pull this off, again depending on the situation.
 * The Big Guy - Split between Bruiser and Deadeye. Bruiser provides size and muscle, Deadeye brings the firepower.
 * The Chick - Oddly enough the characters will actually rotate this job, though it usually falls on Jenny or Willy when they're not otherwise occupied.
 * "Friend or Idol?" Decision - Toadborg wants the defense codes or he'll jettison Bucky, Jenny and Deadeye into space. Willy faces a moral dilemma. Does he destroy the disks containing the codes, or give them up to save his friends? At Bucky's insistence he smashes them, to Toadborg's fury....until Al Negator turns up with a copy of the codes. Oops.
 * Frothy Mugs of Water - Former pirate Gunner Deadeye Duck's favored drink? Swamp Grass.
 * Fully Dressed Cartoon Animals - All the furry characters.
 * Fun with Acronyms - S.P.A.C.E.: Sentient Protoplasm Against Colonial Encroachment
 * Gaia's Vengeance - Subverted. The toads have a machine which can completely change the climate and ecology of a conquered planet into a swamp. Given what we see of the cities on such converted worlds, this cannot be a pleasant experience for anything currently on the surface when this happens.
 * Genius Bruiser: Toadborg.
 * Goggles Do Nothing - Bucky's aviator cap has a pair of large goggles that he never pulls down over his eyes.
 * Groin Attack - Jenny kicks a toad in the family jewels in the first episode.
 * Handicapped Badass: Deadeye.
 * Hero of Another Story - Commander Dogstar in the TV-series.
 * Hello, Nurse! - Jenny. It's the voice that helps A LOT with this.
 * Hero Worshipper: Felicia to Jenny.
 * Holding Out for a Hero - The enslaved hares put to work building a new climate converter are waiting to be rescued by Bucky O'Hare, which irritates Mimi LaFloo who is trying to organize a resistance movement to free themselves.
 * Hot Teacher: Jenny to Felicia.
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain - The Toad Air Marshal. He sees himself as Bucky's arch-nemesis but Bucky seems to view him as little more than an annoyance.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills - And with a flying disk no less. Also some of the shots Deadeye pulls off seem fairly unlikely even given his background.
 * Informed Ability - The Toad Air Marshal is forever talking about his accomplishments and skills, but for the run of the series he's much more of joke character than anything else. Of course, considering the only guy in the entire Empire who seems remotely competent is in a higher position than him and above that is a super-computer, maybe he really is the best Komplex could get for the job.
 * Interspecies Romance: Implied between Bucky and Jenny, and also Mimi to a certain degree.
 * Invisible Advertising - Probably the biggest reason this franchise is so obscure. Seriously, did anyone see any advertising for any aspect of it?
 * Jerkass - Vice-Chairman Grebb.
 * Toad Air Marshal also.
 * And Al Negator.
 * Lady Land: Jenny's home planet Aldeberan seems to be this.
 * Large Ham: In-universe example: Bruiser's TV appearances are GLORIOUSLY hammy.
 * Lovable Nerd: Willy.
 * Magitek - Depending on how you view the powers of the Artificers of Aldebaran, this describes the sensors of the Righteous Indignation.
 * Married to the Job: Bucky and Deadeye.
 * Meaningful Name: Most of the characters had these.
 * The Mole - Chairman Harman turns out to be a tiny newt controlling a robot body.
 * Momma's Boy: Bruiser.
 * Morally-Ambiguous Ducktorate - Deadeye.
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous - Deadeye. Again.
 * The Napoleon - The Toad Air Marshal, swagger stick and all.
 * Bucky also to a certain degree.
 * Nintendo Hard - The NES game. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad programming gave the game this distinction, it was the requirement for skill. And then there was the REAL hard setting for the game.
 * Non-Mammal Mammaries: The female toads had these.
 * No Problem With Licensed Games - The tie-in NES game was popular among many of those who played it. The arcade game, which allows Bucky to defeat the toads once and for all, is without a doubt awesome.
 * Not-So-Harmless Villain - According to Blinky, the reason the Toads' initial push was so unprepared for was that everyone thought they were completely harmless... Silly Mammals.
 * Not Quite Dead - In the cartoon, Bruce gets zapped by the photon accelerator and everyone thinks he's dead as a result. He actually got teleported across the Aniverse.
 * In the comic, however, Bruce has attained oneness with the Aniverse.
 * Oblivious to Love - Jenny and Mimi LaFloo are quite obviously attracted to Bucky but, based on his reactions to their advances, this would probably be news to him. Somewhat justified as the former has a policy of secrecy about her, while the latter spent the better part of her introductory episode expounding on how little she liked Bucky. That he was in disguise when she said this doesn't seem to register.
 * It's more of the fact that Bucky is more focused on stopping the toads than dealing with a relationship. He's probably aware to a certain degree of Jenny and Mimi's attraction to him, but he's understandably more concerned with saving the Aniverse first.
 * The Obi-Wan - Bucky actually has one in the form of the mysterious Mentor, a rabbit who taught him how to be a warrior. Given how young he's portrayed as, one wonders when he had time to do that AND go through the Academy on Genus.
 * Oh Crap - Nearly all the toads are terrified of Berzerker Baboons and they have this reaction whenever one shows up.
 * Psychic Powers: Jenny and all of the Aldebarans had these.
 * Punny Name - Come on...Al Negator?
 * The toad scientists who built Komplex are named Hopkins, Wartimer and Croakley.
 * Your forgetting one of the biggest offenders of this with the main character "Willy Dewitt". Just say his full name and think about it.
 * Reptiles Are Abhorrent - Al Negator is a two-timing scuzzball only out for profit, willing even to betray the toads. Likewise, Samurai lizard Sly Leezard is quite the bastard. Note that this is subverted when Sly's boss, the supreme commander of the Samurai lizards, has him punished for breaking the Samurai's code of honor, and lets the heroes go free (so long as they never return).
 * Restraining Bolt - K.O.M.P.L.E.X. had at least one programmed into him, he cannot hurt his designers, so when he took over the toads, he sent them into deep space.
 * Rose-Haired Girl: Jenny.
 * Rule 34 - Oh yeah...
 * Scott McNeil - Deadeye Duck and various other charcters, it's one of his early gigs.
 * Secret Keeper - Willy regarding Jenny. In point of fact he gets let in on a number of secrets from all the crew over the course of the series.
 * Sexy Mentor: Jenny to Felicia.
 * Stripperific - Jenny's outfit subverts this; her gray and black outfit covers her completely, but the gray parts by themselves would definitely qualify.
 * It helps that said gray parts accentuate, uh, certain attributes of the female body structure.
 * The Smurfette Principle: Jenny is the only female in Bucky's crew.
 * Sufficiently Advanced Alien - Encountered in the comic book in the form of a white mouse. Apparently anything he creates that travels outside his "sphere of influence" ceases to be, which the toads found out to their detriment when the magma they stole from his planet disappeared when they got far enough away. He proved to be something of a benevolent version of this trope, using his powers to rescue the toads on the ship (though he later admitted the place he'd sent them to was known for its high property taxes).
 * Theme Naming - Frix and Frax.
 * Those Two Bad Guys - Frix and Frax, again.
 * Too Dumb to Live - While the toads that recklessly fly into the Deadeye's general area might count, they're Brainwashed and Crazy as an excuse. The United Animal Security Council, on the other hand, seems almost actively trying to get wiped out by the Toad Empire.
 * Also Frix and Frax, to an insane level.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Many characters, but Jenny and Willy stand out the most.
 * Trigger Happy - Deadeye solves every problem by shooting at it.
 * Weaksauce Weakness - The Void-Droid - very powerful, but not waterproof
 * Weaksauce Weakness - The Void-Droid - very powerful, but not waterproof

"Willy: Stay back or I'll zap you! Toadborg: Ah! A Betelgeusian Berserker Baboon! Stay back! Help!"
 * What Measure Is a Non-Cute? - The toads and pretty much every non-mammalian species in the show, apart from birds of course.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - Toads, with the exception of Toadborg, fears the berserker baboons.
 * Though initially upon meeting Willy...


 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Jenny's apprentice Felicia has this.