"Falcon Punch!" - Captain Falcon's battle cry, Super Smash Bros. Melee
Captain Douglas Jay Falcon, 36, of Port Town is the star of
Nintendo's racing series
F-Zero. From behind the wheel of his racer, the
Blue Falcon, the captain is the star of the
F-Zero Racing Circuit and beloved by millions of fans for his speed and take-no-crap attitude. Much of his past is kept shrouded in secrecy, although it is known that he is called "captain" due to his years of service with the Internova Police Force, but today uses his training to
hunt bounty when he's not on the racetrack. He also has an evil twin, a man cloned from some of the captain's blood who is known as
Blood Falcon. Although he was mentioned by name in both 1991's
F-Zero, 1995's
BS F-Zero 2, and 1998's
F-Zero X, players didn't actually get the chance to control him directly until 1999's
Super Smash Bros. where he was a playable secret character. Master of the powerful Falcon Punch, the captain could dish out 25% damage with every strike. By the time 2001's
Super Smash Bros. Melee came around Falcon had become a more well-rounded and balanced character, although his Falcon Punch and Falcon Kick moves were still some of the most powerful in the game. When
Sega and
Nintendo teamed up to create 2003's
F-Zero GX and
F-Zero AX they gave the captain some personality by creating an elaborate Story Mode around him, allowing players to see him in his natural element and interacting with other characters in the
F-Zero world for the first time.
In Japan Nintendo has taken Captain Falcon to the next level by crafting an animated/computer generated anime series based on his adventures. F-Zero: The Legend of Falcon follows the life of detective and Falcon fan Ryu Suzaku who is out to prove himself a worthy racer in the eyes of the captain, plus he's out to solve a murder from 150 years ago that is somehow linked to the F-Zero event. The show began airing in 2003 in Japan and is expected to air on American television sometime in 2004 after translation and editing of the show is complete. A 2003 Game Boy Advance release, F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu, follows the series's plotline. The game will be released outside of Japan under the title F-Zero 2 later in the year, and with the captain's new-found popularity it's a sure bet that it won't be the last adventure for Captain Falcon.
References:
http://cube.ign.com/articles/097/097067p1.html