Star Fox (comics): Difference between revisions

Line 1:

[[File:starfox_scan_1895.jpg|frame]]

A monthly ''[[Star Fox]]'' comic strip, illustrated by Benimaru Itoh, was printed in issues 45 to 55 of ''[[Nintendo Power]]'' in 1993. It was a sort of background covering of events in the original Star Fox, with some exclusive characters not currently seen in any of the games to date. One such character was Fara Phoenix, a vixen who becomes the fifth member of Star Fox after they saved her from Venomian forces. The story followed the Star Fox team as they went from outlaws on Papetoon, to an elite Arwing fighter squadron. Fox, Falco, and Andross were the only 3 characters whose backgrounds were fully explained in the story.

=== Tropes: ===

* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: Inside Andross' base, Slippy and Peppy manage to break into Venom's control center via a vent.

* [[Almost-Dead Guy]]: As the crippled freighter ship crashes, a lizard stumbles out of the smoking wreck. He cryptically says, "Beware the Stingrays...!" before collapsing.

* [[And There Was Much Rejoicing]]

{{quote|'''Fox:''' Flat as an ape crepe!

'''Falco;''' Yahoo! [[Added Alliterative Appeal|Papetoon pancakes!]] }}

Line 14:

* [[Badass Biker]]: Falco used to be one.

* [[Badass Damsel]]: Fara in Chapter 3.

* [[Batman Cold Open]]: Fox and his desperadoes shooting down one of Andross' ships in the prologue.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Do NOT imply that Fox McCloud and the band that he leads are thieves, or suggest raiding anything other than Imperial freighters. He does NOT take kindly to it.

** "'''''[[[[Punctuated ~~for~~ Emphasis]] WE ARE NOT THIEVES.]]'''''"

** "'''''[[[[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!]] WE ARE NOT THIEVES.]]'''''"

** Also, don't call him Junior.

** Fox gets even more furious upon finding out that {{spoiler|his mother was killed by a car bomb Andross intended to use on his father}}.

Line 28:

* [[Call Back]]: When Fox radios Slippy to ask if he has enough legroom, Slippy replies, "It's better than Peppy's saddle-bag!" (Slippy was crammed behind Peppy's cockpit seat in a previous chapter.)

* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Fara Phoenix, Fox's mother Vixy and many others. Fara was in [[Dummied Out|early alpha builds]] of the unreleased ''[[Star Fox 2]]'', but she got replaced by two new female characters in later builds.

* [[Chekhov's Boomerang]]: Herbert I.

* [[Child Prodigy]]: Fox Jr. was in the best of his class at the academy. "He could fly circles around a flea, endure days of gravity training, recite the Cornerian Constitution backwards and [[The Last of These Is Not Like the Others|belch on command]]." Fox Sr. was justly proud.

* [[Cliff Hanger]]: The team cockily chases Slippy's kidnapper to Sector Y, only to find that he's disappeared from radar. Making matters worse, they're running low on fuel. And the stingrays are moving in...

* [[Cloning Blues]]: {{spoiler|After Fox kills Andross in the second arc, he gets cloned into two Androsses}}.

* [[Crazy Enough to Work]]: The team laments that they can't get to Andross without first getting to Venom, which is impenetrable. Fox knows of a route that Andross might not have considered: "We'll go through the Black Hole!"

* [[Custom Uniform]]: Fara's black Arwing. After it's blown to pieces, she gets a [[Pink Means Feminine|pink]] replacement.

* [[Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon]]: Andross promises to "shatter [Fox's] soul like glass."

** "Rip out their lying lizard tongues!"

* [[Cut the Juice]]: Peppy blasts Herbert to smitherreens, removing Andross' energy during his duel with Fox.

* [[Dead Herring]]: At the start of Act 6, we learn that the lizards are now good guys. The owl captain observes that they "almost seem to be ''too'' reformed!" Almost immediately, their ship is attacked by Stellar Stingrays and Jellyfish, killing the lizard onboard as well.

** From the café window, the group notices Fara's Arwing flying around. Falco assumes that Slippy is test-driving the Arwing, but Peppy mind-reads the pilot and determines that it's actually not a frog, but a lizard. Fox jumps to the conclusion that the reformed lizard mechanic was "just a clever ruse." In the hangar, however, they find the lizard who was assisting with Slippy's repairs on the floor, having also been attacked.

* [[Deceased Parents Are the Best]]: Fox Sr. and Vixy.

* [[Derelict Graveyard]]: Fox notices many other floating ships that have gotten lost in the Black Hole, freaking him out.

* [[Die Hard on an X]]: Fox, Falco, and Peppy stowaway on a cargo tube being loaded into a star freighter. After the ship exits Papetoon's atmosphere, the three climb out of the cargo hold to hear a battle happening on the floor above them. Some lizards have taken over the ship.

* [[Died Happily Ever After]]: Inside the Black Hole, Fox finds himself lost, unable to find a way out. Suddenly, the image of his father appears in front of him, calling out "Junior! Follow me!" Fox flies into a white light at the end of the tunnel.

* [[Dude in Distress]]: Poor Slippy gets nabbed by Andross in Act 6.

* [[Divided We Fall]]: The leaders of Corneria were too scared of Andross, and Fox and his friends were denounced for inciting a rebellion. They fled Corneria and lived as outlaws on Papetoon.

* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Even with her arwing on fire, Fara acts as if everything is peachy keen.

Line 49:

* [[Don't Sneak Up On Me Like That]]: General Pepper's lieutenant bursts into his room to alert that Fox has hijacked an Arwing; Pepper is so surprised that he [[Spit Take|spills his coffee]].

* [[Driven by Envy]]: Falco chafes at Fox's leadership. Hasn't he gotten enough glory?

* [[Dynamic Entry]]: At the Papetoon spaceport, Peppy mentions that Slippy is spending the trip in a cyro-mud bath. Later, as the hostage-taken is about to escape, Slippy bursts out of one of the bath tanks. The lid [[Improvised Weapon|falls on top of the lizard's head]], knocking him out cold.

* [[Ejection Seat]]: Fara is able to bail out of her arwing as it goes down. Her cockpit deploys helicopter rotors to slow her decent, while Fox swoops in with his Arwing and catches her between his wing.

* [[Elaborate Underground Base]]: Star Fox's [[Home Base|hideout]] on Papetoon.

* [[The Empire]]: This version of Andross is explicitly said to rule an empire, with friends and foes alike referring to him as "[[The Emperor|Emperor]]" Andross.

Line 59:

* [[The Exile]]: As per the SNES game, Andross was stranded on Venom. In a [[Rule of Drama|dramatic]] twist, the Star Fox team fled to Papetoon after being "dangerous radicals"on Corneria.

* [[Expospeak Gag]]: "I'm thinking it is our sacred duty to relieve these lizards of the burden of command."

** "Call it a professional assessment."

* [[External Combustion]]: Fox's mother Vixy Reinard's death was because of a car bomb rigged for James. Not to be outdone, Andross rigged James' Arwing to blow.

* [[Faux Action Girl]]: Fara. May be due to a combination of [[The Worf Effect]] and, well...[[Damsel in Distress|getting kidnapped]].

* [[For Great Justice]]: General Pepper calls on Fox to prove that he stands for "honor, decency and freedom of species."

* [[Forgot to Pay the Bill]]: General Pepper's telegram remarks that the "Communications Cartel" shut off Fox's phone service due to nonpayment.

* [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]: The starship which saved Fox Sr. can only manifest in our reality as a [[Space Whale]].

Line 69:

* [[Glory Days]]: Falco reminiscing about being a thief. He's ''never'' happy.

* [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]: Fox gets these whenever he gets ''really'' pissed.

* [[Hero Insurance]]: General Pepper's lieutenant reports the team's success on Venom. Pepper marvels that he was "going to discharge the lot of them," but now he predicts parades and medals.

* [[His Name Is]]: General Pepper starts to reminisce about Fox Sr. way back in Chapter 3, but is interrupted by Andross shattering the windows.

* [[Hot-Blooded]]: Fox, particularly where Andross is involved.

Line 75:

* [[Huge Holographic Head]]: Andross first appears to General Pepper in this form. For added effect, he smashes all of the windows.

{{quote|'''General Pepper:''' [[Shaped Like Itself|What an ape!]]}}

* [[Human Shield]]: Peppy wonders aloud why imperial troops were sent to hijack a freighter. Suddenly, they notice a lizard holding a woman hostage. Fox asks Peppy who she is, and he replies that she is Fara Phoenix, the spaceship magnate's daughter.

* [[Hypno Trinket]]: Andross' transmitters.

* [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]]: The lizard attempting to kidnap Fara has shades of this. "Move your tail, precious."

Line 99:

** Andross losing contact with his Dodora. Whoops.

* [[Opaque Lenses]]: General Pepper.

* [[Our Time Travel Is Different]]: Slippy proposes using a gravity dilator in Black Hole to create a shortcut through space. This fits into the real-life "gravity donut" theory of time travel.

* [[Ow, My Body Part]]: When Fox saves Fara's escape pod, Slippy is stunned at the stunt; his brain hurts just thinking about it.

* [[Parental Bonus]]: When first told about General Pepper, Fox recalls him being a sergeant. And in case this is [[Stealth Pun|too stealthy]], it is reused and expanded upon when Pepper explains James and Andross's backstory, ending with the revelation that he was unable to help because he was only a sergeant at the time. Complete with a picture of him and his associates, resembling [[The Beatles|a certain album cover]].

Line 106:

* [[Percussive Prevention]]: Falco expresses concern that Fox is "beyond reason" and that unless they stop him from going into the Black Hole, he'll kill himself. Better knock his lights out, then. *cracks knuckles*

** And Fox later [[Laser-Guided Karma|returns the favor!]]

** Falco's real motive is revealed a few pages later, when he tries to steal Fox's arwing to go make history himself.

* [[Phantom Zone]]: The Black Hole.

* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]: Fara cockily compares one of Andross' carriers to a trash compacter. "Time to take out the garbage!" (Subverted; she gets shot down immediately.)

Line 112:

* [[Pre-Mortem One-Liner]]: "How about some stir-fry?" [zaps a lizard]

** See that they get the message!

** Slippy reminds Peppy of the android pig they captured on Papetoon, and says that the pig they're looking at is a literal "[[Piggy Bank]]" of data and the nerve center for the base. Peppy says it's time they "made a withdrawal," and shoots Herbert with his blaster.

** Fox taking out both of the Andross head's eyes. "Keeping an eye out, Andross?"

* [[Reformed Criminal]]: As a cadet, Fox met a gangster "with enough [[Street Smart|street savvy]] to fill an encyclopedia." Falco wanted to fly, too, so he cleaned up his act and enrolled in the acedemy.

* [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]]: The Imperials consist entirely of [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|red-eyed lizards]]. Partially inverted, as they were once a peaceful people before Andross brainwashed them.

* [[Rescue Romance]]: Fox and Fara. Although the first time, Slippy technically did the saving.

* [[Robot Buddy]]: Herbert I and II.

Line 137:

* [[Tap on the Head]]: Falco lays out Fox with a few punches.

** While the rest of the team grab some ice cream, Slippy continues to work on Fara's Arwing. Suddenly, he is approached by an unseen figure and knocked out with [[Improvised Weapon|crowbar]].

* [[Tempting Fate]]: Fox is warned not to attempt one of his "famous last-second rescues" (as the lizard puts it) when Slippy ambushes him from behind.

* [[Telepathic Spacemen]]: In this incarnation, Peppy is a psychic.

* [[Terms of Endangerment]]: Andross is impressed that Fox made it all the way to Venom. "Your valiant effort should be rewarded, Junior!"

* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]: Slippy shows off a photo of his girlfriend "Croakella," who gave him his [[First Kiss|first wart]]. (She has [[Hair Decorations|red ribbon]] in her hair.)

Line 144:

* [[Training Accident]]: Fara boast that she's "been flying since [she] was a kit," and challenges Fox to a race. Peppy notices they're headed the wrong way, though. back at base, General Pepper is alerted that two arwings have entered Imperial Space.

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: Fox goes into a supremely awesome one of these near the end of the comic when {{spoiler|the first Andross clone reveals that not only was the original Andross after his father from the very beginning, but that he was responsible for killing his mother with a bomb that was meant for his father}}. "Payback time is overdue," indeed.

* [[Vehicular Sabotage]]: Fox and co. are a bit hasty in chasing down Fara's stolen Arwing. When they arrive at Sector Y, they find their fuel tanks have been emptied.

** Done to the car of {{spoiler|Fox's parents as well, intended for [[McCloud]] Senior. It [[Gone Horribly Wrong|didn't quite end well]] and killed Fox's mother instead.}}

* [[Walk in Chime In]]: Peppy does not initially see who kicked Falco out of the Arwing. Fox pokes his head out the cockpit to remind them that he's the only one qualified to navigate the Black Hole. Fara chimes in and says that he's "not the ''only'' one qualified!" She and Fox start up their Arwings.