Wolf O'Donnell

Wolf O'Donnell (, Wolf O'Donnell) is a character from the Star Fox series. Wolf is the leader of, an infamous team of skilled mercenaries that have crossed paths with on several occasions, and is the mutual rival of Star Fox's leader, Fox McCloud.

After making a cameo in Super Smash Bros. Melee during one of its opening movie's cutscenes, Wolf transitioned into an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He returned in that capacity in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate after being absent from Super Smash Bros. 4.

Origin
Wolf was originally going to appear in  for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). In Star Fox 2, Star Wolf is introduced as a team of mercenaries consisting of its leader Wolf and his wingmates Leon Powalski, and. Due to the team's tenacious and unscrupulous methods, they have become feared throughout the Lylat System, with Wolf in particular being noted as someone who is willing to betray anyone for the right price. In order to ensure that his second attempt at conquering the Lylat System succeeds, Andross hires Star Wolf to intercept and kill Star Fox.

Although Star Fox 2 was completely finished, it was canceled because of the Nintendo 64's impending launch and said system being more cost effective in regard to developing polygonal games. Despite this, some of Star Fox 2's features were carried over to ' (and ' by extension), including Star Wolf, while Star Fox 2 itself would later be included as part of the SNES Classic Edition in 2017.

Wolf made his proper debut in Star Fox 64, a remake of the first Star Fox game. As in Star Fox 2, he is both an elite pilot and the leader of Star Wolf. Unlike in Star Fox 2, however, Wolf sports an eyepatch on his left eye instead of a large scar on his right eye. Another noticeable difference is that Wolf's personality has more depth. In the past, he had a rivalry with, and it's because of this feud that Wolf wants to combat his son, a gifted pilot by the name of Fox McCloud, and sought to prove himself as being just as capable as Fox. The official Japanese guide for Star Fox 64 also mentions that, despite his villainous ways, he is also a "man of integrity" and a "magnanimous" character. It's implied it's because of this that Pigma was able to take advantage of him and manipulate him into forming Star Wolf to do his and Andross' bidding.

Shortly before the, Andross hired Pigma to persuade Wolf, as well as Leon, to form Star Wolf to assist his army and, as a last resort, defend key routes to his base of operations on Venom. In addition to payment, Andross, along with Pigma, custom engineered each member of Star Wolf a Wolfen, an advanced model of fighter craft. However, Andross also forced Pigma to place his nephew,, onto Star Wolf in order to provide the team with technological and financial support. Throughout the game, the player can battle Star Wolf up to two times, though there are three different battles with them overall, depending on which routes are taken on the map.

Shortly after Andross' defeat on Venom, Star Wolf abandoned the Venomian Army and resumed their roles as mercenaries willing to accept any mission, regardless of legality. However, Andrew was kicked out of the team shortly after the Lylat Wars, due to his poor piloting skills and arrogance regarding his heritage towards his deceased uncle who he no longer had the backing of, which prompted him to take control of the remainder of the Venomian Army and follow in Andross' footsteps by staging a rebellion against Corneria. At another point in time, Pigma was also expelled from Star Wolf, owing to his unreliability and insatiable greed.

Nine years after the events of Star Fox 64, Wolf reappeared in . During these intervening years, Wolf assumed control over the, an illegal hub for criminals and former members of the Venomian Army. He also recruited Panther Caroso, a top-class pilot, to replace Andrew and Pigma. When Star Fox searched for Pigma in order to retrieve a that he stole earlier, Star Wolf proceeded to face Star Fox in a dogfight over what Wolf presumed to be an invasion of his territory.

Upon being defeated, Wolf called off their dogfight, but would later arrive on Corneria alongside Leon and Panther in order to save Fox from the rising threat of the Aparoids. Although Wolf said the only reason for doing this was so he could defeat Fox himself, Wolf's advice and grudging respect toward Fox nevertheless signaled his transition from a full-fledged villain into an honorable, albeit still unlawful, anti-hero. Following this incident, Star Wolf provided backup to Star Fox at the and the. After Star Fox successfully destroyed the Homeworld, Star Wolf was nowhere to be found. During Krystal's acknowledgement of their sacrifice as being among the many lives lost during the conflict, Fox speculated that Wolf, Leon and Panther were still alive.

In , Fox's assumption of Star Wolf's survival was proven correct. Following the destruction of the Aparoids, Star Wolf resumed their status as mercenaries. In response, the Cornerian Military placed a bounty for each member, with Wolf having the highest bounty set at $30,000. To avoid attention, Star Wolf set up a base on before hatching a plan to simultaneously remove their bounties and improve their reputations. Soon after, Wolf recruited Krystal into Star Wolf following her expulsion from Star Fox, which was caused by Fox's fear of her dying while a part of the team like his father.

With the advent of the, Star Wolf sought to remove their bounties by plotting a way to defeat them, which reaffirmed their status as anti-heroes. Although Command features multiple branching storylines that see Star Wolf achieve varying degrees of success in their bid to stop the Anglar Empire, Command's director Dylan Cuthbert stated that none of them represent the true ending as it's effectively up to the player to decide how the game truly ends, based on their preferences and choices in the story.

In , a reimagining of Star Fox 64, Wolf and his team are depicted almost identically to their portrayals in that title. Despite this, Wolf's portrayal in particular received a few noticeable alterations. The Sector β mission can result either in him shooting down Fox's mentor and teammate,, or retreating after he receives a sufficient amount of damage (in reference to his appearance in Star Fox 2). The Wolfens are also capable of assuming a wolf-like Hunter mode to counter the Arwing's bipedal Walker mode.

In the Nintendo Switch version of Ubisoft's Starlink: Battle for Atlas, exclusive Star Fox content features a crossover story that occurs some time after the events of Star Fox Zero. In Starlink, Wolf decides to fly solo in search of additional firepower to use for himself in the power vacuum caused by Andross' defeat. His journey ultimately leads him to the Atlas star system to acquire a Spin Drive for his conquest of the Lylat System. Soon after arriving in Atlas, Wolf forged alliances with several Outlaws, most notably Cash Guavo, Zonna Vangore and Koval Grimm.

In response, Star Fox pursue Wolf to Atlas in order to thwart his plans, and forge an alliance with the Starlink Initiative on the common ground of protecting Atlas. Wolf's hideout is eventually discovered by Star Fox and Starlink, at which point they proceed to stop him. After Wolf's initial plans are foiled, he reforms Star Wolf alongside Leon, Pigma and Andrew in order to gain revenge. After Leon, Pigma and Andrew's individual plans are foiled, they regroup with Wolf and ally with numerous Outlaws in a final attempt to defeat Star Fox and the Starlink Initiative. Although Star Wolf are almost successful in their attempt to steal Starlink's flagship, the Equinox, by using a battleship armed with tractor beams, they are ultimately defeated by the combined efforts of Star Fox and Starlink, and are launched into a wormhole that sends them back to the Lylat System.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee


In Super Smash Bros. Melee's opening movie, there is a brief cutscene where, piloting his Arwing, crosses paths with Wolf in his Wolfen, which then concludes by quickly featuring mugshots of the two characters in their cockpits. Wolf is also mentioned in the Wolfen's trophy description. While the aforementioned cutscene led to very early fan speculation of Wolf having a role in the game, perhaps as a playable character, Smabura-Ken confirmed that this was not the intended purpose of his cameo.

The Wolfens also appear as platforms in Corneria and Venom, seemingly doing battle with the Arwings.

As a playable character
Wolf appears as a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He can be unlocked by playing 450 VS. Mode matches, clearing Boss Battles Mode with or, or entering a secret door in The Ruins after completing The Subspace Emissary. Like Fox and Falco, Wolf sports a modified version of his design in ' and '.

According to Super Smash Bros. series creator Masahiro Sakurai, Wolf's inclusion was highly requested by fans because of his popularity within his home series. Although Krystal, another highly requested Star Fox character, was also a candidate for a roster spot, Sakurai said that the combination of time constraints and using Fox and Falco as source materials resulted in Wolf having much better potential to be a fully realized fighter in comparison to her.

Compared to his fellow Star Fox fighters, Wolf both derives and deviates from them in a variety of ways. Like Fox and Falco, Wolf's walking and falling speeds are both very fast, and his gravity is very high in spite of his size. However, Wolf is taller, heavier, and overall stronger than they are. By extension, he has the slowest dashing speed among them (especially compared to Fox's), yet his air speed is drastically faster in comparison. Unlike Fox and Falco, Wolf uses a feral fighting style; in addition to keeping his basic stance low to the ground in spite of his taller height, it results in the majority of his moveset noticeably differing from theirs aesthetically and mechanically.

Despite having special moves similar to Fox and Falco's in regard to both naming and mechanics, Wolf's respective versions nevertheless deviate in very noticeable ways. His fires shots one at a time like Falco's, yet features a bayonet that damages opponents if they are close enough. Fire Wolf hits multiple times like Fire Fox and Fire Bird, yet lacks a flame effect and consists of a flying kick instead of a headfirst dash. Wolf Flash quickly propels Wolf, similarly to Fox Illusion and Falco Phantasm; it is also capable of meteor smashing like the latter when sweetspotted. However, it propels Wolf diagonally instead of horizontally.

Compared to Fox and Falco's Reflectors, Wolf's has a lower damage multiplier and higher travel speed multiplier when used against projectiles. Unlike theirs, it can also function as a pseudo-counterattack because of the significant number of intangibility frames it produces, while the barrier itself is ovoid instead of hexagonal. Finally, Wolf's Landmaster has greater firepower and mobility at the cost of a shorter duration. It also features a red and gray color scheme akin to the Wolfen's, instead of the standard blue and white.

Due to Wolf's excellent aerial mobility, fast and long-ranged attacks, and plethora of options, his overall matchup spread is slightly favorable. Most notably, this includes a manageable matchup against despite being soft countered by Meta Knight. However, Wolf has a poor recovery and a severe susceptibility to chain grabbing, the latter of which results in him being countered by a few characters, most notoriously. Overall, Wolf's strengths and respectable tournament success have resulted in him being currently ranked 14th out of 38 on the tier list. This places him at the top of the C tier, and posits him as a mid tier character.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
Unlike and, Wolf does not return as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His only direct appearances are as a trophy in both versions of SSB4, and via Lylat Cruise's Smash Taunt. Outside of these cameos, Wolf Flash is one of Fox Illusion's custom variations. On a related note, Star Wolf's three songs can also be played on Corneria, Orbital Gate Assault, and Lylat Cruise.

As a playable character
Wolf returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was formally announced alongside the rest of the cast via Ultimate's E3 2018 trailer on June 12th, 2018. Jay Ward reprises his role as Wolf's voice actor for the overseas versions, while Kōsuke Takaguchi now voices him in the Japanese version.

Like and, Wolf's design has been updated to reflect his appearance in . In Wolf's case, he has a longer snout and a normal eyepatch, while his visible eye is slightly larger and has a red iris. Unlike Fox and Falco, however, Wolf's attire is entirely original to Ultimate.

Trivia

 * In both Brawl and Ultimate, Wolf has a slower running speed than Falco, who in turn has a slower running speed than Fox. However, in the Versus mode of Star Fox: Assault, which predates Wolf's playable Smash debut, the speed differences are the opposite, with Wolf being the fastest.