In the F-Zero series: F-Zero (1990)
In the Super Smash Bros. series: Super Smash Bros. 64 (1999)
Boxing Ring Title: The Supersonic Slugger
Theme Song: F-ZERO Medley
Douglas Jay Falcon, better known by his alias "Captain Falcon", is a well-known bounty hunter and an accomplished racer in the "F-Zero" series. Captain Falcon is often considered the series protagonist.
Not much is known of Captain Falcon's past. Rumor has it that he obtained his "Captain" moniker from his days working with the Internova Police Force. Captain Falcon's home is said to be somewhere at an archipelago near the coast of Port Town, where he trains on his private racecourses. His signature vehicle is none other than the Blue Falcon. He also has a spacecraft called the Falcon Flyer.
Captain Falcon made his debut in the SNES game "F-Zero". Here, Captain Falcon is one of the four racers in the game, the other three being Samurai Goroh, Dr. Stewart, and Pico. Out of the three, Captain Falcon is considered the well-rounded racer; excelling in nothing, but not lacking in anything, a trait that he would carry in every future installment. Captain Falcon would race against the other three in the three of the Grand Prix Cups - Knight, Queen, and King - to win the trophy and prove himself as one of the best racers at F-Zero.
The game also came with a short comic. Here, Captain Falcon was getting ready to enter the Knight GP. However, before the race was about to begin, Falcon decided to take a detour to go after a bounty on an individual named Scale Head. After capturing him, Samurai Goroh - who was also after the bounty - threatens Captain Falcon to surrender Scale Head to him, so he can obtain the reward. Falcon, unfazed by his threats, ignores Goroh and carries Scale Head to his Falcon Flyer, with Goroh swearing to take revenge in the upcoming race. Falcon then heads off to Mute City to claim another bounty before returning just in time to enter the race.
Some time afterwards, Captain Falcon got into an accident during an F-Zero Grand Prix, which left him comatose. Some thieves would steal Captain Falcon's DNA during this, which an evil individual named Black Shadow would use to create Blood Falcon, an evil clone of the good captain who's capable of performing almost anything Captain Falcon can.
Three years later, Captain Falcon is now 36 years old, and would return to racing in "F-Zero X". Along with racing against a bunch of new faces, Falcon would also go head-to-head with Black Shadow and Blood Falcon, who were both aiming to kill Falcon during the race in front of millions of viewers. Despite their efforts, Captain Falcon would manage to overcome them and win in the four Grand Prix. If the player manages to win the Grand Prix on the Master Difficulty setting, Captain Falcon decides to retire undefeated.
"F-Zero GX" would be the first game to feature an actual story mode. Taking place one year after the events of the previous game, Captain Falcon's popularity has sky-rocketed due to his victories. Of course, his claim of retirement didn't last long, as Captain Falcon was training for the next Grand Prix. This would eventually lead him encountering his self-proclaimed rival, Samurai Goroh, who made a bet that he could beat Falcon in a race in the desert canyon. Falcon would prove him wrong and emerge victorious, with Goroh swearing revenge at the next Grand Prix. Afterwards, Captain Falcon decides to take a break at the Bet & Race
Dollars Bar. There, an old man named Silver Neelsen would recognize Falcon. Silver
forces him to enter an upcoming Bet & Race, where Silver would bet
on Falcon being the winner.
Going under disguise as "Famicom", Falcon would win the race, and Silver would give Falcon his share of the winnings with Falcon. Before Falcon can pick it up, he witnesses Black Shadow attacking the Lightning area on the news. Falcon heads off to try and stop him, only to get intercepted by a group of thugs led by a man named Michael Chain. Upon dealing with them, Falcon enters the facility to save a woman named Jody Summers. Their escape is a close one as the facility's core was set to overload and detonate, with the whole place going into lock-down procedures.
With Jody now safe, Captain Falcon finally heads off to confront Black Shadow. However, Black Shadow, with some help from Blood Falcon, manages to trap Falcon inside his own vehicle, the Blue Falcon. Not only that, but they strap a bomb on it that will detonate if Captain Falcon is going too slow! Falcon manages to survive by driving the Blue Falcon straight off an unfinished road and right under a crane, which knocks the bomb off.
Afterwards, Captain Falcon would participate in the Grand Prix, where he emerges victorious! After receiving the Champion Belt, Falcon witnesses Black Shadow being punished by his master, Deathborn, for his incompetence. Deathborn then heads over to Falcon to challenge the good captain to a one-on-one race for ownership of the two belts. Heading to Deathborn's Lair, Deathborn reveals to Falcon that the energies of light and dark are condensed in the Champion Belt Falcon has, as well as the belt Deathborn has. If the two are combined, they will provide ultimate power to the individual who wields them, turning them into a god-like being. Thus, Deathborn plans to obtain the belts and rule the galaxy completely unopposed! Upon hearing that, Falcon swears he will take Deathborn down.
Despite the danger, Falcon manages to emerge victorious, claiming both belts while Deathborn falls off the track into the lava below. Uniting both of the belts into one, Falcon vows to keep winning races to prevent the belt from falling into evil hands.
Heading home to his garage, who else should appear but some individuals who call themselves "The Creators". Falcon manages to figure out they were behind everything that happened, though they don't elaborate on their motives. Regardless, they challenge Falcon to a race. If they win, they'll rip out Falcon's soul and turn it into one of their creations. Once again, Captain Falcon manages to emerge victorious, and the creators scream in anger as they disappear. And thus, Falcon's adventure comes to an end.
"F-Zero: Maximum Velocity" takes place 25 years after the events of the previous game. At this point, Captain Falcon has seemingly retired from racing, though his accomplishments have gone down as legends. A new racer, named Kent Akechi, claims to be the son of Captain Falcon, and even drives a vehicle called the "Falcon MK-2."
Personality-wise, Captain Falcon is portrayed as a calm, yet stoic, individual with a strong sense of justice. Despite his accomplishments and popularity, Captain Falcon is mostly reclusive, due to his dangerous line of work making him many enemies. It's even said that when he wins a race, he'll simply grab his awards and before immediately heading for home.
Captain Falcon also shows up in the anime adaption, "F-Zero GP Legend", which takes place in a world separate from the games. In the anime, the name "Captain Falcon" is a title an individual holds. The current holder of it is a man named Bart Lemming, who is later revealed to be the missing brother of Jody Summers. Compared to the games,
Captain Falcon is portrayed as a bit of a reluctant hero, but is still willing to
help whenever he can, with current rumors being that he’s running a
small shop somewhere in Mute City. In the final episode of the series,
Captain Falcon passes on his title to the show's protagonist, Rick Wheeler (
aka Ryu Suzuku), before
going out in the most awesome way imaginable to stop the show's antagonist, Black Shadow.
F-Zero GP Legend also had its own game adaption as well.
In Super Smash Bros., Captain Falcon uses various punches and kicks to defeat his foes. Some of his attacks even have some "flare" to them! Go out there and show them your moves!
Special Moves
Neutral Special: Falcon Punch
Captain Falcon kneels downward and reels his right fist back a bit while saying “Falcon…”
If he isn’t interrupted, he’ll shout “PUNCH!!” while throwing his fist forward, bathed in flames that resemble a falcon.
While it may be Captain Falcon’s most iconic and strongest move, you may have difficulties actually landing it due to its long startup.
If you press the Special Button and quickly tap the control stick in
the opposite direction Falcon’s facing, he’ll perform a Reverse Falcon
Punch, which is slightly stronger than a normal Falcon Punch at the cost of taking a half-second longer to throw out.
This move is original to Super Smash Bros. It wouldn't be until the anime "F-Zero GP Legend" that Captain Falcon would be shown actually using it. Meanwhile, “F-Zero GX” would reference the Falcon Punch during the game's credits song.
Side Special: Raptor Boost
Falcon rushes forward. If he's on the ground and bumps into anyone, he'll uppercut them into the sky.
If Falcon is in the air and bumps into anyone, there are two outcomes. If they are in front of him, Falcon will simply punch them away.
If they are underneath him, he slams them downwards!
This move is original to Super Smash Bros.
Up Special: Falcon Dive
Captain Falcon jumps upwards. If he collides with anyone while rising, he'll grab them for a second before blasting them away in a fiery explosion, all while shouting "Yes!" Afterwards, he can then perform the move again. He can do so as many times as he wants as long as he grabs someone. Otherwise, he’ll have to either land on the ground or
grab onto a ledge to use it again.
This move is original to Super Smash Bros.
Down Special: Falcon Kick
Captain Falcon shouts “Falcon Kick!” while performing a fiery kick
forward! Anyone he hits will get flung away, though Captain Falcon will
lose some forward momentum.
If used in the air, he’ll go in a more downwards angle.
This move is original to Super Smash Bros.
Final Smash: Blue Falcon
Captain Falcon shouts “Come on!” as his racing machine, the Blue Falcon, drives right up in front of him. If the Blue Falcon manages to hit anyone, they get flung towards a race track while Captain Falcon hops inside his vehicle.
As his foes stand there dazed and confused, Captain Falcon drives straight towards them and runs into them, which sends them flying away!
If the Blue Falcon fails to hit anyone when Captain Falcon summons it, then the move fails.
Inspired by Captain Falcon’s main vehicle, the Blue
Falcon, in the “F-Zero” series. The car resembles its appearance in
“F-Zero GX”, though it has some bits and pieces from its various
appearances throughout the series. The racetrack that Falcon sends his
opponents to seems to be Port Town, Captain Falcon’s hometown.
Additional Notes
One of Captain Falcon’s alternate costumes is Blood Falcon, his evil
counterpart introduced in “F-Zero X”. As his clone, Blood Falcon is capable of doing anything Captain Falcon can
do. Though he blindly obeys Black Shadow’s orders, he sometimes
questions who he is, or if he’s actually human. Regardless, he knows one
thing: Kill Captain Falcon and become the only “Falcon” that matters.
In “F-Zero GX”, Blood Falcon implies there are more of him, a fact
that’s shown to be true in the anime adaption “F-Zero GP Legends”.
Captain Falcon’s portrayal in Super Smash Bros. is widely different
compared to the F-Zero games. Where Captain Falcon is calm and stoic in
F-Zero, he’s more hot-blooded and loud in Super Smash Bros. Guess he
must loosen up in Super Smash Bros.
All four of Captain Falcon’s Special Moves are made up. It’s often
speculated that, back when Super Smash Bros. was intended to be an
entirely different game called “Dragon King: The Fighting Game”, Captain
Falcon inherited the moveset that the prototype fighter may have had,
since they have a similar body shape. Another idea could be that
Captain Falcon’s moveset was inspired by “Tokusatsu”, a genre in Japan
that involves live-action with lots of special effects added, as it was
pretty popular around that time.
Captain Falcon was originally created for the purpose of being the mascot for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but this never panned out; thus Captain Falcon became the mascot and main character of the F-Zero series instead.
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