Template:Character The Red Falcon is an alien creature that is also one of the main antagonists throughout many of the Contra games. He is also leader of the alien army, Red Falcon, named after himself. In Japan, Red Falcon only refers to the alien army and no such alien is given that name. In addition, he is actually identified as two separate entities in Japan: his alien head form is known as Emperor Demon Java (天王鬼 ギャバ, Tennōki Java) and his heart is known as Emperor Demon Evil Heart Gomera Mosking (天王創魔心ゴメラモスキング, Tenno Soma-shin Gome Ramos King). He, alongside the many other aliens in the series, are inspired by H.R. Giger's Necronom IV, which is also the basis for the Xenomorphs from the Alien film series.
Biography
The Red Falcon is depicted as an unstable biomass that attempts to conquer the Earth. As the first phase to conquer it, he created a terrorist organization (also an alien army) which is named after him. Two Contra members, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, have managed to put a stop to his plans repeatedly. However, he and the other Aliens returned back to get revenge on the Earth, especially the Contra team of soldiers.
Game Appearances
- Contra (1987, appears as an dragon or xenomorph-like alien head and a giant heart)
- Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992, appears as a dragon-like alien head [renamed Para-Slug] and a giant heart )
- Contra: Hard Corps (1994, appears as a dragon or frog-like alien head and a giant heart)
- Contra: Shattered Soldier (2002, appears as a fish-like alien head and a giant heart)
- Contra 4 (2007, appears as a giant heart)
- Contra Rebirth (2009, appears as a giant heart)
Appearance
Bill Rizer taking on Red Falcon's heart at the end of Contra.
In the original Contra, the game's final stage can be considered the entire biomass alien entity that is Red Falcon with the hero first battling his head and then at the stage's conclusion, his heart. Throughout the series, he is usually depicted in this large dragon-like alien head form, inspired by the Xenomorph from the Alien franchise, and/or as his giant, beating heart. In Contra III, this head was slightly altered with additional arms and, as a result, lost some resemblance to the film creature. Contra: Hard Corps continued to re-imagine his appearance by dramatically altering it further. When both forms are fought within the same game, the giant heart of the Red Falcon always follows his head form. In both Contra: Hard Corps and Contra: Shattered Soldier, human antagonists have begun to used his DNA and cells for research and later as secret weapons. In later entries of the series, he only makes appearance in the form of his giant heart.
Continuity Issues
Given that character names and story lines are often changed or altered when a video game is released between different markets (especially in a series that has multiple games released throughout several decades like Contra), continuity issues commonly occur. One shining example is Red Falcon. Because the Japanese market originally envisioned the Red Falcon as only an alien terrorist organization and not an actual alien leader, there is no priority for a physical appearance of the Red Falcon in the series. Emperor Demon Java and Emperor Demon Evil Heart Gomera Mosking, the two creatures that became Red Falcon in North America, were only two major alien creatures making up the Red Falcon army and in no way the leader of the organization. In fact, no definitive Red Falcon leader is ever clearly identified in the Japanese Contra timeline. With that said, the final boss of Super Contra, known as Jagger Froid in North America, which makes multiple appearances throughout the series, is commonly confused to be Red Falcon. Major inconsistencies began in the North American Contra III, when the alien head form of the Red Falcon in the game's final was misidentified (or retconned) and renamed Para-Slug. The Japanese names, however, remain consistent throughout the series.
Reception
IGN Ranked Red Falcon 76th being one of the Top 100 villians due to his persisent resurrection[1]
Trivia
- In some "Contra movie" fan-made trailers in YouTube the Alien Queen from the Alien film series is used to portray the Red Falcon.