Captain Commando (character)

Captain Commando
Profile
Full Name	Mars Carlisle
Age	26
Birthplace	America
Height	182 cm
Weight	72 kg
Blood Type	O
Likes	N/a
Dislikes	N/a
Measurements	N/a
Fighting Style	Martial Arts

Captain Commando (キャプテンコマンドー, Kyaputen Komandō) is the main playable character of the game Captain Commando, as well as a sort of first mascot for the company, created by Capcom USA as a fictional spokesperson.

Story

Captain Commando is a 26 years old American and the leader of the crime-fighting 4-man team known as the "Commando Team", formed by "Ninja Commando" Ginzu, "Mummy Commando" Mack The Knife and "Baby Commando" Baby Head. He is the son of respected scientist Dr. Alexander and his wife, Elaine, and is known as the CEO of Star Electronics, a technology company. Following his encounter with the alien Mack the Knife, his parents led a group of scientists to research his technology in secret, putting great efforts to prevent the evil Scumocide from discovering it. In the end, however, Scumocide ended up killing both of Commando's parents and the whole group. As Scumocide's brand of Super Criminals started causing problems on Earth, Captain Commando took matters into his own hands and formed the Commando Team, intending on sweeping clean not only Earth, but the entire universe of the criminal element brought forth by Scumocide.

He's a very talented man, a tactical genius and natural-born leader, possessing the natural gifts of a powerful mind and strong body. The Captain is a very energetic, optimistic and easy-going person and has a very friendly nature, but he has zero tolerance for villains and will never hesitate to confront and eliminate them for the greater good. It is said that the bigger the wall in front of him is, the brighter his determination will burn.

Abilities

Equipment

Captain Commando fights using a power suit created using Mack's technology. This power suit is divided into 5 pieces each with their own strengths and functions:

• Energy Glove (パワーグローブ, Pawā Gurōbu): Known as the Power Glove in Japan. A powerful equipment that allows the Captain to shoot mighty bolts of fire and electricity. According to the Marvel vs. Capcom Secret File, he can release flames at 500.000 C° and up to 100.000 bolts of electricity.
• Captain Gauntlet (キャプテン・ガントレット, Kyaputen Gantoretto): Equipped alongside the Energy Glove, the gauntlets multiply Commando's power 48 times, making it easy for hm to smash a thick iron plate. For comparison, in the manga, Commando can punch through an attack helicopter's plating with a single punch, bare-handed.
• Captain Goggles (キャプテン・ゴーグル, Kyaputen Gōguru): Special blue-colored (changed to ruby/red following his redesign in Marvel vs. Capcom) shades that can help him identify a criminal's face at a distance of 2 km, by comparing with a database. In Marvel vs. Capcom, they are also used to summon the rest of the armor.
• Captain Protector (キャプテン・プロテクター, Kyaputen Purotekutā): Commando's body armor, created with a super-tough material known as "Captain Ceramic", allows him to withstands up to a trillion degrees of heat.
• Captain Boots (キャプテン・ブーツ, Kyaputen Būtsu): These special boots have a shock absorber function that make it possible for him to take a 100-meter fall with no injuries to himself, or any damage to his boots. According to the Marvel vs. Capcom Secret File, the Captain's kicks deliver a total strength of 100.000 horsepowers.

Fighting Techniques

Besides his natural gifts of a powerful mind and strong body, he also uses his Energy Gloves to fight, capable of shooting mighty bolts of fire and electricity. His "sure-killing" Special Move is the Captain Corridor (キャプテン・コレダー, Kyaputen Koredā, lit. Captain Collider); striking the ground with his Energy Gloves causes an electric shock flow in the floor, which kills everyone around him. His Dash Attacks are Captain Cannon (キャプテン・ファイヤー, Kyaputen Faiyā, lit. Captain Fire) and Captain Kick (キャプテン・キック, Kyaputen Kikku); Captain Cannon releases a blast of flames that torches the enemy, while Captain Kick is a quick dashing kick that can hit several enemies at once. Captain Commando can also grab his opponent and kick their stomach or throw their whole body over his shoulders.

In the Marvel vs. Capcom series, Captain Commando retains the use of the Captain Fire, Captain Corridor and Captain Kick as normal attacks, albeit with small alterations; the Captain Kick being a sweeping flying kick with a fire trail and the Captain Corridor generating a tall column of electricity around him. He can also use two new attacks in which he combines with all members of the Commando Team, known as Captain Sword (キャプテン・ソード, Kyaputen Sōdo) and Captain Storm (キャプテン・ストーム, Kyaputen Sutōmu). For Captain Sword, the team rises their hands together and slashes downward with a giagantic beam, and in Captain Storm Captain Commando strikes with a dashing uppercut, similarly to Cyber Blue's Tornado from Battle Circuit, followed by each member flying past the opponent and ending with the team posing in front of the fallen opponent who then explodes. Finally, in Namco x Capcom, Captain Commando has also the Captain Corridor Blow (キャプテンコレダー・ブロウ, Kyaputen Koredā Burou, lit. Captain Collider Blow), a variety of the Captain Corridor where he punches the enemy while his fist generates an electric sphere, based on a similar move from the manga, Captain Collider: Full Burst (キャプテン・コレダー・フルバースト, Kyaputen Koredā Furu Bāsuto).

Manga appearance

In the Captain Commando manga, Captain Commando is given a civilian identity as Star Electronics CEO Mars Carlisle (マルス・カーライル, Marusu Kārairu). At a very young age he lost both his parents to an accident (later revealed to be a terrorist attack by Scumocide), and he eventually assumed control of his father's company Star Electronics. Mars presents himself as a bumbling and irresponsible executive, but at night he wanders Metro City to fight crime as vigilante super-hero Captain Commando, usually thwarting the efforts of the Basia sisters, Carol and Brenda.

Initially, Commando fights using his bare fists, but near the end of Volume 1 he equips a prototype Captain Gauntlet on his right arm to confront the otherwise-unstoppable Dolg. The Captain Gauntlet works using the "Psycholink" system, which powers up the gauntlet through the intensity of its wielder's emotions to produce large discharges of electricity, the more fervor used the stronger the weapon's discharge is. Commando manages to defeat Dolg, but the huge amount of stress it puts on him (Baby Head stated he could only use one discharge per day, Commando managed two) leaves him hospitalized for 2 weeks.

Development History

Captain Commando first started life as a character for advertising created by Capcom USA, something reflected on his name (CAPtain COMmando). He debuted as a fictional spokesperson for the company appearing in the packaging of English-released NES videogames between 1985 and 1988, which were listed as part of the "Captain Commando Challenge Series". The packaging included a drawing of the Captain, who looked like a cartoonish space hero with purple clothing, long flowing white hair, two gold medals engraved with a C, and holding a silver and gold raygun in each hand. The game's manuals also included a short text labeled a "Special Message from Captain Commando", congratulating the player for having purchased the game. Commando appeared in this capacity on the packaging of the NES ports of 1942, 1943: The Battle of Midway, Commando, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Legendary Wings, Trojan, Section Z, Bionic Commando and Gun.Smoke, as well the original NES games Mega Man and Mickey Mousecapade. He also appeared in the manual for the Amiga ports of Forgotten Worlds and LED Storm, and the Commodore 64 ports of Side Arms and Stocker.

The packaging for Mega Man and Gun.Smoke includes an alternate artwork of the Captain, where he is portrayed as a more generic muscular superhero with a circular "C" logo on his chest, holding a banner with "Capcom USA" on it while looking up.

A second, redesigned version of Captain Commando was included in Capcom NES titles released in English markets during 1989. The Captain sported a complete redesign, featuring him as a brown-haired pilot drawn in a realistic style, wearing a blue and white pilot suit, a helmet under his arm and a blue, alien monkey perched on his shoulder. He appeared on the game's packaging with a note above advising players to "look to (him) for up-to-date reports for all the exciting action games from Capcom", concluded by his handwritten signature; while the manuals used the original message with the new art. He appeared in the following NES games: Strider, Mega Man 2, Willow and DuckTales.

Captain Commando then resurfaced in 1991 as the protagonist of his own, eponymous titled Arcade beat'em up created by Capcom Japan, with a complete brand redesign helmed by Capcom's premiere artist Akiman. Akiman stated that he thought the designs created by Capcom USA were "not cool", and thus he redesigned the character using an American comic book aesthetic. Previous to deciding to use the Captain Commando branding, the character was first conceptualized as the unrelated "Future Fighter J". While the character's design is completely different to what Captain Commando would become, it still features clear prototype versions of the Captain Armor and Gauntlets, with similar abilities.

Captain Commando message from 1985-1988

Captain Commando message from 1989

Future Fighter J

Other appearances

• Captain Commando (alongside Ginzu and the stage enemy Carol) appears in the background of Ken's stage from Street Fighter Alpha 2, attending a birthday party for Ken's then-girlfriend Eliza. Commando can be seen next to Eliza, presenting her a bouquet of flowers.

• Captain Commando appear as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. He also makes minor cameo appearances in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: on a poster in the background of the "Days of Future Past" stage with other characters from previous games, as part of the party in Deadpool's ending, and as a support card in the Heroes and Heralds mode together with the other team members.

• Captain Commando appears as a playable unit in Namco X Capcom, alongside his other Commando Team comrades. He returns in the direct sequel Project X Zone 2 as an assist-only Solo Unit.

• Captain Commando is one of the many Capcom characters presenting quizzes in Adventure Quiz: Capcom World 2.

• Captain Commando appears as a card in all three games in the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters series.

• Captain Commando appears as a costume for Chuck Greene in Super Ultra Dead Rising 3' Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX + α and as a costume for Frank West in Dead Rising 4. In both instances the costumes replicate some of the Captain's special moves.

• Captain Commando appears in the intro animation for Street Fighter × All Capcom. The Captain Commando series was one of 6 planned series to be featured in-game, but the game was cancelled before their inclusion.

• Captain Commando was one of the playable characters in the cancelled Capcom Super League Online.

• Charlie Nash's 1st crossover costume in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition was of Captain Commando. He was also given a new move in the update called "Justice Corridor", based on the Captain Corridor.

Trivia

• In Namco X Capcom, Guy is welcomed as an official member of the Commando Team, and later in Project X Zone 2 he is confirmed to remain a part of the team . In this game, his Solo Attack includes cameos from Michelle Heart, Cyber Blue and the space ships Colonel and Sargeant from Exed Exes. Dialogue interaction with Reiji implies they are new recruits to the team, with the main Commando Team (including Guy) occupied in other missions off-screen.

• The instruction manual for the English release of Section Z for the NES identifies the otherwise nameless player character as "Captain Commando". The manual somewhat ambiguously claims Freedom Fighter Captain Commando unites with the player, who is described as having "shed his earthly identity to become the last remaining astronaut in space", a description of the game's main character.

• The Street Fighter IV newcomer Crimson Viper has several references to Captain Commando in her moves. Viper fights using a powered suit that allows her to discharge electricity and fire through her gloves, in a very similar manner to Commando's Gauntlets lets him do the same. Some of Viper's basic punches and kicks are duplicates of some of the Captain's basic attacks in Marvel vs. Capcom, and Viper also has moves similar to the Captain Kick (Burning Kick) and Captain Corridor (Seismic Hammer). This has led to speculation that Viper's technology is the predecessor to the Captain's armor, although this hasn't been officially confirmed yet.

• Captain Commando appears in the live action launch trailer for the Capcom Beat ’Em Up Bundle compilation, where he travels in time to bring three kids from the nineties into 2018 to play the Arcade games of old in a home system.

• In the Resident Evil 3 remake, a poster for a movie based on Captain Commando can be found in the underground subway area. The movie is named "Command Team: Mars Carlisle's Off Duty", using the Captain's real name from the manga; this is possibly implying the name has been made official canon.

Gallery

For more of this character, see their gallery.