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ScrollBoss Minus World: The secret identity of Captain Commando?

The secret identity of Captain Commando?

This one is a bit of a stretch. Yet, in some ways, it makes perfect sense. At least it does in my twisted head. Still, I'll tell you about it for your education and entertaiment (or to kill time). Captain Commando was a great beat-em-up game where the good captain and his 3 partners embark on a mission to destroy the genetic scientist/madman Scumocide and his minions in order to save the world. The game walked the line between comedic and serious in a way that few other games have ever done. Captain Commando and co. later appeared in the fighting game, Marvel vs Capcom. And that's when it finally hit me:

Captain Commando = Buckaroo Banzai

If you're not a child of the 80's let me tell you about this flick: Buckaroo Banzai and his band/lab assisstants/partners in justice must stop an invasion from another dimension that is being lead by an evil doctor. Okay, let's start with the easy stuff. Both have double initials for their names (B.B. and C.C.). Both characters travel with a strange group of friends from different areas.

Buckaroo Banzai Perfect Tommy Captain Commando
Visually, Cap looks like a blend of Buckaroo Banzai and Perfect Tommy, one of the best-known members of Banzai's group, the Hong Kong Cavaliers. While Cap acts with the seriousness and fashion sense of Buckaroo, he seems to have Perfect Tommy's hair while in Captain mode (Cap's hair is normally brown as seen in his Marvel vs Capcom sprites).
Captain Commando
Buckaroo Banzai

Both characters play the guitar... but in different styles...
...although New Jersey has the cowboy stylings.

Speakng of style, Cap seems prefer white suits and like Perfect Tommy does:

chatting with world leaders

The crew walking together in ending credits

So is all of this stuff just mere coincidence? Probably. Before you ask: yes, I know that Captain Commando was a character who existed in different forms before the side-scrolling game. I've seen at least 2 different versions inside old Capcom NES instructions. Do I think that really any true link between the two? Of course not. A cult classic like Buckaroo Banzai can easily be stuck in the back of your mind and influence things. You have no idea how many people who grew up in the 80's call people "Monkey-Boy" or say "Remember: wherever you go... there you are." without remembering where they heard it from. Perhaps some of the people working on the game had fond memories of the movie and threw in a few references in tribute. But did they or didn't they? That's what the Minus World is all about: too many questions and not enough answers... much like the Buckaroo Banzai movie itself.

For more information on the fictional and real life versions of Buckaroo Banzai, you owe yourself a trip to the :
the Banzai-Institute

the Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai © 1984 Orion pictures corporation. All pics from the movie are taken from the DVD and are used without permission in the name of fandom. Captain Commando and all characters from that game © Capcom.

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