As one of the most innovative and talented creators in mainstream showbiz, Adi Shankar proudly flaunts his pop culture fanboy cred through his projects. But most importantly, he knows how to amalgamate the good bits of popular IPs of yesteryear with contemporary sensibilities seamlessly and deliver a unique work of art at the same time. His collaboration with Netflix has proved to be a blessing for the streaming service, which has resulted in the creation of not only arguably one of the best animated franchises in recent years in the form of the Castlevania series, but also a better live-action satire of the oversaturation of superhero culture than The Boys, with the underrated The Guardians of Justice. With the recently released six-episode animated series Captain Laserhawk: Blood Dragon Remix, an adaptation of Ubisoft’s Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Adi Shankar expands his Bootleg Universe (fan-made adaptations of popular IPs) on Netflix, and the team-up continues to produce spectacular results.
Aesthetically, Captain Laserhawk establishes itself as a passion project of the makers, as it incorporates visual elements from various iconic media ranging from retro games of the 80s and 90s, right from 8-bits to PlayStation ones, classic Saturday morning cartoons, and even anime to create a dazzling spectacle set in a neon-drenched cyberpunk landscape, and a heady synthwave score to accompany the view. Except for the minor gripe of a lower episode count than desired, which affects characterization a little bit, Captain Laserhawk series is as fly as the catchy title suggests it should be.
Spoilers Ahead
Techno Dystopia And A Betrayal: Why Did Laserhawk And Alex Search For Codec?
As Captain Laserhawk series begins, viewers are introduced to an alternate timeline of 1992, in the retro-futuristic world controlled by a singular corporation known as Eden. Capitalism and commercialization finally took their ultimate form, which resulted in the downfall of the United States and the rise of the singular omni-controlling conglomerate, Eden, which, obviously contrary to its name, turned the denizens of the planet into corporate slaves. Every single faculty of sustenance is under the control of Eden; the economy has been revitalized with UBI (Universal Basic Income), which demands unconditional servitude in exchange for a secure livelihood; people are being fed with propagandist nonsense; even children are being groomed with Eden’s revisionist ideology, which ensure the adherence of the masses; and any form of dissent is purged out with ultimate efficiency—you know, the usual shtick with technocratic governance. The only major resistance that exists is led by the tech wiz, rebel leader Marcus Holloway (the protagonist of Watch Dogs 2), who is the creator of the insurgency group ‘The Revolution’.
The scene cuts to Megacity 2, where viewers are introduced to ex-Eden Special Op Captain Dolph Laserhawk, a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier who turned his back on the oppressive regime, and his lover, Alex Taylor. The duo plans to steal a ‘Codec’ that will provide unrestricted access to Eden’s wealth, allowing them to leave the technocratic hellscape far behind and settle in a relatively better part of the world. As they manage to steal the Codec from one of Eden’s fortified inventories, they face Niji 6, a color-coded enforcer team employed by Eden, whom Laserhawk manages to neutralize after a prolonged battle. However, just as they prepare to go scot-free, Alex betrays Laserhawk, as part of the agreement with his source, who informed him of the location of Codec. As an anarchist, Alex wants to exterminate Eden as a whole, and to do that, no act is off limits, which is why he guns down Laserhawk and escapes with the Codec, which will help him further his cause of Eden’s downfall. Eden declares the duo terrorists on the run, fabricating an elaborate false backstory in the process.
A Suicide Squad: Who Are The Key Players?
A wounded Laserhawk wakes up in Supermaxx prison and meets fellow inmates: wrestling champion Cody Rhodes (yeah, the real world star wrestler), Jade and her associate hybrid Pey’j (characters from the game series Beyond Good and Evil), and an assassin frog named Bullfrog (from Assassin’s Creed). The warden of the prison, Sarah Fisher, informs them that they have been captured under her authority as she plans to use them for covert operations, and to ensure their obedience, a bomb has been grafted inside their heads, which can be triggered in cases of insubordination. Basically, a flat-out reference to DC’s Suicide Squad, which in this iteration has been named Ghosts. Cody Rhodes becomes the glaring example that the team shouldn’t take Sarah’s threats lightly, as while trying to escape, he gets his brain exploded. Laserhawk is unwilling to participate and is prepared to die anyway, but Sarah manages to manipulate him by mentioning Alex’s supposed motive for betrayal.
As their first assignment, the team is assigned to steal an interdimensional portal-generating gun from a ruthless, sadistic mob boss, Pagan Min (the antagonist of Far Cry 4). While the mission goes relatively alright, Laserhawk gets distracted seeing Pagan and Alex in cahoots and inadvertently jeopardizes the mission, which results in the capture of the Ghosts. To add to the misery, Laserhawk taunts the psychotic Pagan even while being captive, and he retaliates by killing Jade as a form of intimidation. Sarah provides distraction by triggering the bomb implanted in Jade, which helps the team break free and lay waste on Pagan Min’s crew. Ever the opportunist, Alex escapes after obtaining the dimension gun, and despite Sarah’s repeated threats and Bullfrog’s wise advice against vengeance, Pey’j kills Pagan Min to avenge Jade. Later, Alex is shown to have become the current leader of Pagan’s crew, and he opens a portal using the gun to summon giant moths like Kaijus from another dimension, causing absolute chaos in the process.
Hybrid Segregation: What Was Alex’s Plan? Why Did Rayman Switch Sides?
Parallel with the central storyline of Laserhawk, the subplot of Rayman’s journey from being a celebrated mouthpiece of Eden to an anti-authoritarian pulp character will definitely hook viewers in. The protagonist of the game series of the same name, Rayman, is the talk show host, news anchor, and propaganda peddler of Eden, whose self-serving motives have always let him turn a blind eye to the plight of others. A major part of the world is severely discriminatory towards hybrids, an immigrant species of anthropomorphic animals, and despite being a hybrid himself, Rayman doesn’t dare raise his concerns with the overseers of Eden, the Board of Directors. That is, until Red, the leader of Niji 6, insults immigrants on live news and Rayman lashes out, resulting in him getting promptly fired by the higher-ups. Soon enough, Rayman is conveniently replaced with an AI replicate, which is kind of ironic on Netflix’s part considering the SAG-AFTRA situation still hasn’t been resolved till now.
Anyway, despite the utter failure of the previous mission, Sarah doesn’t take any punitive action against the remaining Ghosts and assigns them to a new mission: investigating Alex, who, after the death of Pagan Min, has taken over his control and force. The team finds out that, using a specialized mind for controlling shades, Alex is planning to turn humans against hybrids and spark another chaotic situation. As mayhem ensues, being a hybrid himself, Pey’j takes it upon himself to protect other hybrids. Bullfrog tries to destroy the transmitter that is being used to trigger the mob. Laserhawk battles his ex-lover, Alex, who tries to convince him to join his cause of anarchy. The duo share a final kiss before Laserhawk kills Alex, and Bullfrog manages to destroy the transmitter at the same time, releasing the crazed mob from the mind-control. However, once planted, hate grows its roots deep within the psyches of people as the chaotic situation doesn’t seem to recede, and Eden is forced to open fire to control the violence. Pey’j sacrifices his life while saving a hybrid; Bullfrog gets captured, and Laserhawk gets saved at the last minute by Sarah Fisher.
On the other hand, dejected over his downfall, Rayman receives a mysterious premonition that Bullfrog, who is now captive and awaiting his trial, might be able to reveal the truth—something Rayman has neglected all his life. He makes a visit to the captive assassin, who shows him a vision of the world his propaganda has brought to Eden’s knees. Deeply apologetic and remorseful, Rayman goes through a life-altering realization as he is faced with the harrowing reality of being a lifelong puppet at the hands of the oppressor.
Vision Of Two Worlds: What Does Sarah’s Past Reveal About The Origin Of The Revolution?
Laserhawk wakes up on the outskirts of New Wasteland with Sarah Fisher by his side, who is busy repairing his cybernetic body parts. Laserhawk proceeds to part ways with her, but Sarah, who has already been declared a fugitive by the Eden authorities, coerces him to accompany her on her new mission and threatens to activate the bomb if he ignores her command. The duo gets into a standoff situation when both of them get tranqed by some unseen assailant. As they wake up in a prison, viewers see them in a pixelated live-action form like some of the arcade games utilized during the 1990s (Mortal Kombat 3 comes to mind). It should be mentioned that the voice actors of these two characters play their live-action roles as well, which is kind of cool. Anyway, as the duo speculates about a possible route of escape, Sarah shares her past, which sheds some light on her current objective as well. Daughter of a legendary war veteran, Sam Fisher, Sarah came to Marcus and his gang of hackers with her father at a young age as they needed to bypass Eden’s strict regulations about immigration. Sarah, who was brainwashed from a young age with Eden’s propaganda, ratted them out, which resulted in Marcus and his associates getting captured.
At the prison of New Wasteland, Marcus and his crew were relentlessly tortured in a VR chamber as a form of ‘correctional procedure,’ to the point that most inmates went senile. Almost eight years after Sam infiltrated the prison to rescue Marcus, the duo formed the resistance group known as the Revolution and liberated New Wasteland from the control of Eden. By then, Sarah had completely dedicated her life to Eden’s cause, became a trainee combatant, and opposed her father’s worldview as a result. However, after witnessing the brutal attacks Eden had launched to curb the resistance, Sarah started questioning her allegiance, which turned into self-hatred when her father died in Eden’s assault. Which is why she wants to join Marcus Holloway this time to make amends and ensure the destruction of the tyrannical conglomerate. Laserhawk is moved by her honest confession and appreciates her dedication. In the midst of their conversation, the leader of the Revolution, Marcus, reveals himself, stating that he was testing the duo. In a simulation-type setting, Laserhawk is shown his desired version of utopia, and seeing his ghost comrade, Alex, in the vision, he realizes the significance of Bullfrog’s advice regarding the futility of vengeance. Motivated by Bullfrog’s words, Laserhawk decides to return to save his comrade, and he has to race against time to do so as Bullfrog’s execution by Eden authorities is going to happen soon enough.
Did The Revolution Survive At The End?
Marcus continues tormenting Sarah by showing her the horrible visions of Eden’s assault and Sam’s last moments, until he is completely convinced of her intentions about joining the Revolution, as Laserhawk had previously vouched for her. However, just as he drops his guard, Sarah reveals her ulterior plans to take control of the VR chamber, as she has already infected the digital interface with a trojan of her own. Meanwhile, Laserhawk finds the Eden forces and Niji 6 to be his opposition, and while fighting them, he realizes that Sarah had infected his cybernetic enhancements with trojan, which, unbeknownst to him, was uploaded in the VR via him. Betrayed yet again, an anguished Laserhawk unleashes his full potential to demolish his adversaries and return to Marcus’ VR chamber to confront Sarah.
On the other hand, Rayman manages to stop Bullfrog’s execution by infiltrating the chamber of the Board of Directors and eventually killing all of them. In the VR chamber, Laserhawk lures Sarah to come into closer proximity and self-destructs himself to kill her as well. However, his sacrifice goes in vain as Sarah is revealed to be a completely cybernetic organism, whose human-like appearance burns away as a result of the explosion, revealing her hideous, arachnoid-robotic true self. Sarah demands Marcus’ allegiance, as she is dissatisfied with Eden’s approach and wants to reshape the world in her image. With Laserhawk dead and Marcus at Sarah’s mercy, it seems like hope for a better future is lost.
As Captain Laserhawk ends, a classic retro console RPG-style screen appears, where it is revealed that Laserhawk has been transported into some other dimension after his death. He is greeted by Sam Fisher, who has possibly survived his death in a similar manner as well, and the duo starts planning to take the fight back to the oppressors. It is possible that they have been transported to a digital dimension, from where they will try to break Eden and Sarah’s new insurgency from within. In any case, the answer to that question will be known in the upcoming season, and viewers will surely remain stoked for that.
