Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa

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Left to right: The Cowlorado Kid, Marshal Moo Montana, and The Dakota Dude.

Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa. A show most young'uns assume is only the product of the drug-addled minds of us that were born in the 1970s and 1980s, but was quite real. It was a Saturday Morning Cartoon that aired on ABC starting in 1992 created by comic artist Ryan Brown (who inked several dozen issues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and designed several figures for the toy lines, which probably explains a few of the themes of the show). The show focused on the exploits of three anthropomorphic cows who were in fact cowboys (har har).

See, in the 19th century, a random comet crashed into the Southwestern United States causing a massive transformation among not only the land, but the animals as well, turning them into intelligent versions of themselves that decided to create their own city, Moo Mesa. In this city, they basically acted as humans of the Old West did, and as such, there were good guys and bad guys....the former being the trio of C.O.W. Boys (Marshall Moo Montana, The Cowlarado Kid, and Dakota) and the latter being composed of the city's shady politician Mayor Bulloney, and Sheriff Terribull who took on the alias of the Masked Bull, a criminal mastermind.

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Tropes:

• Absolute Cleavage: Lilli Bovine and Sadie Wowcow.
• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: The Underground City.
• Action Girl: Tejua and Cowlamity Kate.
• Aerith and Bob: Moo Montana and Lilli Bovine is just one of the many examples of this.
• Alliterative Name: Many characters had these.
• Always Someone Better: Cowlarado Kid was talented with a lasso, but nowhere as good as Cowlamity Kate.
  • Cowlarado Kid's horse Jezebelle was one of the fastest fillies around, but nowhere as fast as Cowline's horse Tornado.
• Animal Superheroes
• Animation Bump: The animation became a lot smoother in the second season.
• Art Evolution: The series is a lot more detailed in the second season.
• Awesome McCoolname: Many characters had these, but Shock Holiday stands out quite a bit in this area.
• Back From the Dead/Came Back Wrong: Tom Duggery who is resurrected as Skull Duggery.
• Badass: In so many ways.
  • Badass Crew/Power Trio: The three main heroes.
  • Badass Adorable: Cody and Tejua had their moments of this.
  • Badass Bookworm: Cody and J.R. most of the time.
  • Badass Damsel: Lilli and Tejua at certain points.
  • Badass Longcoat: Bat Blastagun and Shock Holiday.
  • Badass Mustache: Five Card Cud has one.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animals
• Bash Brothers: Moo and his deputies, along with Sheriff Terribull and Horibull who are actually brothers.
• Bat Out of Hell: Bat Blastagun.
  • The Cowgoyle also counts to a certain degree.
• Beauty Mark: Sadie Wowcow has one.
• Berserk Button: Never ever threaten or disrespect Cowlamity Kate when Dakota's around.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Most of the heroes fall under this category.
• Beyond the Impossible: In the Arcade Game, the Cowboys can swim up a waterfall. A WATERFALL.
• Big Bad: The Masked Bull.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Sadie Wowcow.
  • Bastard In Sheep's Clothing: Jacque Le Beef.
• Blondes Are Evil: Barbwire Babs and Jacque Le Beef.
• Blue Eyes: Lilli Bovine has these of the beautiful variety.
• Bound and Gagged
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Dakota, after being defeated by Skull Duggery and his gang.
• Brainy Brunette: Tejua, Cowlamity Kate, and Buffalo Bull.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Dakota Dude.
• Canon Immigrant: Buffalo Bull was made up for the arcade game in order to provide a fourth player character, but he became a real character on the show.
• Can't Catch Up: Cowlarado's horse Jezebelle is fast, but nowhere near as fast as Cowline's horse Tornado.
• Catgirl: Barbara, a.k.a. Barbwire Babs.
• Cat Fight: Lilli Bovine and Sadie Wowcow have a pretty big one in the episode "Thoroughly Moo-dern Lilli".
• Cats Are Mean: Barbara, a.k.a. Barbwire Babs proves this.
• Character Development: Actually, there was a pretty decent amount in this show.
• The Chessmaster: Moo Montana, The Masked Bull, and Mayor Bulloney usually juggled this role.
• Chick Magnet: Moo Montana, Dakota Dude, Cowlarado Kid, and Jacque Le Beef.
  • Cody also counts for this considering his friendships with Tejua and Carly.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Cowlorado Kid and Swifty Buckhorn.
• City of Adventure: Cowtown.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Boothill Buzzard. Saddlesore Scorpion also, to a lesser degree.
• The Complainer Is Always Wrong: This is averted when Moo and his deputies were suspicious of Jacque Le Beef when he became extremely popular in Cowtown, especially with the ladies. It turns out they were right since he was a con artist that was using a fake name to hide his true identity and cover up his scam.
• Cool Big Sis: Bessy for Frank and Beans. Also Lilli to Cody to a certain degree.
• Cool Teacher: Sara Sheep, who even has the respect of Dakota Dude.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: While Mayor Bulloney is mainly a politician, he's also a corrupt businessman.
• Courtroom Episode: While no episode had too much, if any, of courtroom time, a good deal of "Bulls of a Feather" was about the good guys keeping the witness safe for Sheriff Terribull's trial and the bad guys trying to either prevent the witness from showing up or make sure the witness' testimony wouldn't be enough to convict Terribull as the Masked Bull.
• Cowboy
• Curb Stomp Battle: When Cowlamity Kate is attacked and aged by Skull Duggery's gang, Dakota tries to avenge her, but it really doesn't go as planned.
• Cute Bruiser/Hot Amazon: Cowlamity Kate.
• A Day in the Limelight: Several characters aside from the main heroes had episodes that focused on them and allowed for some nice Character Development along the way.
• Deadpan Snarker: The Masked Bull.
• Defeat Equals Friendship: Subverted when Cowline defeats both Cowlarado and Swifty in the horse race causing them to put aside their differences.
• Disguised in Drag: Cowlarado Kid does this to try to infiltrate Barbwire Babs' gang. It doesn't go very well.
  • Also Boothill Buzzard tries to pose as the school's female teacher to trick the children into helping him commit crimes.
• Damsel in Distress: Lilli Bovine, at times. This is taken Up to Eleven in the arcade game where you have to save her.
• Dr. Jerk: Dr. Wolfenstein.
• Dumb Muscle: Ma Belle's biggest son qualifies for this.
• Enemy Mine: The episode "Dances With Bulls" has a pretty memorable one.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Ma Belle's gang, who are also her children prove this.
  • The Cacklin' Kid uses this as a means to gain sympathy from the judge to keep the picture he has of his mother, although the real reason he wants to keep it is because the back of it has a treasure map to his stolen loot.
• Everyone Loves Blondes: Moo for his first girlfriend Bessy, and Lilli for Moo.
• Everything Sounds Sexier in French: This is how Jacque Le Beef is able to win over the ladies of Moo Mesa, although it turns out that he's a con artist and his real name is Barney Finklestein who was just using a fake French accent and a disguise to hide his true identity.
• Evil Counterpart: Sheriff Terribull and his deputies for Moo Montana and his deputies.
  • Also Sadie Wowcow for Lilli Bovine.
• Everything's Better with Cows: No duh.
• Evil Redhead: Sheriff Terribull.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Hole In The Ground Gang.
• Eye Scream: Skull Duggery's friend Evil Eye.
• The Faceless: Shock Holiday, until Moo captures and unmasks him.
• Fan Service with a Smile: Lilli Bovine.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Buffalo Tribe were this to Native Americans.
• Fat Bastard: Mayor Bulloney.
• Fetish Fuel Station Attendant: Lilli Bovine and Sadie Wowcow.
• Fiery Redhead: Lilli Bovine has had her moments.
  • Sheriff Terribull is a rare male example of this.
• First Girl Wins: Averted, as Moo chose to stay with Lilli in Cowtown as opposed to staying with his hometown girlfriend Bessy Bluebell.
• Five-Man Band:
  • The Hero: Moo Montana
  • The Lancer: Cowlarado Kid
  • The Smart Guy: J.R. and Buffalo Bull
  • The Big Guy: Dakota Dude
  • The Chick: Lilli Bovine
  • The Sixth Ranger/Tagalong Kid: Cody
• Fragile Speedster: Cowlarado Kid and his horse Jezebelle were the fastest of the main heroes, but they also got into the most trouble.
• Friend to All Children: Lilli Bovine.
• Friend to All Living Things: J.R.
• Fun with Acronyms: The C.O.W. in the series title stands for Code Of the West, which is what the heroes live by.
• Furry Confusion: Justified, as the theme song explains that only "the chosen few" were affected by the comet and turned into anthropomorphic creatures.
• Furry Fandom: Mainly because of Lilli Bovine.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: Lilli and Sadie's fight in the episode "Thoroughly Moo-dern Lilli" involved them tearing apart each others' skimpy dresses and causes Dakota to put his hand over Cody's eyes when he seemed a little too interested.
• Genius Bruiser: Moo Montana, Buffalo Bull, and The Masked Bull.
• Greed: Mayor Bulloney and Tom Duggery. In fact, it was Tom Duggery's greed and selfishness of his silver mine that got him trapped inside and eventually killed during a cave in, which caused him to return to the living world as Skull Duggery.
• Green Eyes: Sadie Wowcow has these, which probably reference her jealousy of Lilli Bovine.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Sheriff Terribull and Sadie Wowcow towards Moo Montana and Lilli Bovine respectively.
• Handsome Lech: Cowlarado Kid and Swifty Buckhorn.
• Happily Adopted: Cody seems to be this since Lilli is not related to him.
• Hello, Nurse!: Lilli Bovine.
• Heroes Want Redheads: Moo for Lilli.
• Honest John's Dealership: Major Bulloney does this during an episode about a drought.
• Hot-Blooded: Cowlarado Kid.
• Hot Guys Are Bastards: Jacque Le Beef.
  • Hot Girls Are Bitches: Sadie Wowcow and Barbwire Babs.
• Hot Mom: Lilli is like a mother figure to Cody, although this trope is completely averted with Ma Belle.
• Impossibly Cool Weapon: Moo Montana's weapon is a shuriken pistol that shoots tin stars.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Moo Montana had these.
• Improbable Weapon User: One of Shock Holiday's cronies uses a rifle that shoots acidic bean paste.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: One episode had the lawcows shrunk by a ray gun powered by a comet fragment.
• Indian Maiden/The Chief's Niece: Tejua.
• Insistent Terminology: Cowlorado Kid let his friends call him "Cowlorado", but wanted everyone else to call him "Kid".
• Intelligence Equals Isolation: Dr. Wolfenstein.
• Interspecies Romance: Swifty Buckhorn attempts to woo Cowlamity Kate's cousin Cowline.
• Jaw Drop: Lilli Bovine has one when Moo attempts to marry Cowlamity Kate in order to save her father's mine from being taken away.
• Jerkass: Sheriff Terribull and Mayor Bulloney.
• Keet: The Cacklin' Kid.
• Kid Appeal Character: Cowlorado Kid and Cody.
• Kid Sidekick: Cody and Tejua at times.
• The Ladette: Cowlamity Kate.
• Large and In Charge: Big Bucks, according to his gang.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Cowlarado Kid.
• Lethal Chef: Cowlamity Kate.
• Licensed Game: The 1992 arcade game, which introduced the fourth hero Buffalo Bull.
• Lightning Bruiser: Shock Holiday, appropriately enough.
• A Load of Bull: Obviously.
• Made of Iron: Dakota Dude.
• Mad Scientist: Dr. Wolfenstein.
• Man Behind the Man: Mayor Bulloney for the Masked Bull.
• Meaningful Name: Most characters had these.
• Merchandise-Driven
• Mighty Glacier: Dakota Dude.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: Ma Belle is relatively small compared to most of her family.
• Motor Mouth: The Cacklin' Kid.
• Ms. Fanservice: Lilli Bovine and Sadie Wowcow.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Cowlamity Kate is named after Calamity Jane.
  • Also Buffalo Bull is named after Buffalo Bill.
• The Napoleon: Mules Burne to literal extent.
  • Ma Belle also to a certain degree.
• Nice Girl: Bessy Bluebell.
• Nice Hat: Most characters had these.
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Skull Duggery.
• Nitro Express
• Non-Hominid Boobies: Like woah.
• Non Standard Character Design: J.R. and Tejua were both drawn without ears, unlike the rest of the characters.
• Not Blood Related: Lilli and Cody aren't directly related, but have a mother and son sort of bond.
• Not So Different: Cowlorado Kid and Swifty Buckhorn.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: The Cacklin' Kid, which makes sense considering he's a hyena.
• On One Condition: Cowlamity Kate's father, who left Cowtown seven years ago, once wrote a letter that was declared a will naming Cowlamity and her husband as heirs to his gold mine. However, this will won't be valid unless she has a husband by the time her father dies. Mayor Bulloney once tried to have her father declared dead so he could use the lack of a will to claim the mine for the town.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: In order to discredit Moo Montana's witness when Sheriff Terribull was taken to the courts for the Masked Bull's crimes, Saddlesore Scorpion and Boothill Buzzard showed up dressed as the Sheriff to see if the witness could tell which one was the real Sheriff Terribull. The witness claimed there were three Sheriff Terribull in the courtroom, thus destroying the prosecution's case.
• Passing the Torch: When Moo returns to Miller Glen, Sheriff T-Bone attempts to do this with him and says his old student Moo Montana would be perfect take his place as the new sheriff, but Moo respectfully turns the offer down and suggests that he train Bessy's younger brothers Frank and Beans to be the next sheriffs of Miller Glen instead.
• Pirate: Captain Longhorn Silver and his crew.
• Plucky Girl: Tejua, Carly, Cowlamity Kate, and even Lilli Bovine has her moments of this.
• Power Blonde: Moo Montana.
• Power Trio:
  • Id: Cowlorado Kid
  • Ego: Moo Montana
  • Superego: Dakota Dude
• Pride: This was mainly the cause of most Sheriff Terribull's, and by extension, the Masked Bull's defeats by Moo and his deputies.
• Proper Lady: Lilli Bovine.
  • Cowlamity Kate's cousin Cowline also fits this description nicely.
• Psycho Electro: Shock Holiday.
• Punny Name: Bessy's brothers Frank and Beans along with many other characters.
  • A Worldwide Punomenon: The majority of the characters, especially the villains had these.
• Recycled in Space: The show got an Arcade game which was a clone of Sunset Riders which, in turn, was Contra in the Wild West.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Bat Blastagun, Shock Holiday, The Cowgoyle, Skull Duggery, and his friend Evil Eye.
  • Also Dakota, after being defeated by Skull Duggery and his gang.
  • Red Bull, Take Warning: If Sheriff Terribull gets mad, watch out!
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Bat Blastagun's friend Gill, The Gilla Hooligans, and The Hole In The Ground Gang all prove this.
• Riddle for the Ages: So, is Cowlarado wearing clothes that have his same skin pattern or what?
  • Well, if you look at the screenshots he is wearing pants (that are indeed patterned like a cow of his colors legs would be). You can tell by the shape. No idea on the shirt.
• Right-Hand Hottie: Sadie Wowcow takes this role to Mayor Bulloney in her appearance.
• The Rival: Sheriff Terribull for Moo Montana, Sadie Wowcow for Lilli Bovine, and Swifty Buckhorn for Cowlarado Kid.
• Rule of Three: Moo Montana and his deputies, Sheriff Terribull and his deputies, Bat Blastagun and his cronies, Skull Duggery and his cronies, and so on.
• Schoolmarm: Sara Sheep.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money: Mayor Bulloney.
• Sexy Mentor: Lilli to Cody.
• Shadow Archetype: Sadie Wowcow to Lilli Bovine.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Jacque Le Beef.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Most of the female characters would qualify with Cowlamity Kate in a wedding dress as the defining example.
• Shock and Awe: Shock Holiday appropriately falls under this.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Moo and his deputies do this when they catch Billy the Kidder and also when they defeat Bovini.
• Showgirl Skirt: Lilli Bovine and Sadie Wowcow wear these.
• Spell My Name with an "S": It's Lilli Bovine, not Lily.
  • Also J.R.'s niece is Tejua, not Tewa.
• Stone Wall: Dakota Dude.
• Stripperific: Lilli Bovine and Sadie Wowcow's outfits bordered on this.
• Super Strength: Dakota has plenty of this.
• Super Speed: Cowlarado's horse Jezebelle has plenty of this. Cowline's horse Tornado has even more.
• Supreme Chef: Lilli Bovine.
• Sweet Tooth: Cody has this.
• Tagalong Kid: Cody, Carly, Jacob, and Tejua.
• Terrible Trio: Most of the main villains traveled in teams of three.
• Theme Naming: The cowboys are all named after states.
  • Also Sheriff Terribull and his brother Horribull.
• Those Two Bad Guys: Boothill Buzzard and Saddlesore Scorpion.
• Three Amigos: Moo Montana, Dakota Dude, and Cowlarado Kid.
  • Also Cody, Carly, and Jacob.
• Time Master: Skull Duggery and his friends.
• Tomboy: Cowlamity Kate.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Cowlamity Kate and Lilli Bovine respectively.
• Too Dumb to Live: Boothill Buzzard is literally so dumb that he is actually immune to the hypnotic effects of Bovini's magic crystal.
• Took a Level In Badass: Cody and Tejua on several occasions.
• Two Guys and a Girl: The lawcows horses fall under this. Moo and Dakota had their stallions Cyclone and Rebel, and Cowlarado had his mare Jezebelle.
  • Also Cody, and his friends Carly and Jacob.
• Uncle Wolf: J.R. for his niece Tejua.
• Villain of the Week: During the second season.
• What Could Have Been: More episodes were planned after the second season, but were never completed.
• White-Haired Pretty Girl: Ma Belle averts this as hard as possible.
• Wicked Cultured: The Gilla Hooligans.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Tejua.
• Woman in White: Cowlamity Kate's cousin Cowline.
• Would Hit a Girl: Moo and his deputies are forced to engage in combat with a band of female bandits in the episode "No Way To Treat A Lady".
• You Gotta Have Blue Fur: Dakota Dude.