Nintendo Comics System: Captain N: The Game Master

While the other Nintendo franchises that became part of the Nintendo Comics System started out as video games, Captain N: The Game Master was based on the popular animated series, which at the time aired on NBC's Saturday morning schedule. These comics were designed to show the further adventures of the man who would be the hero of Videoland. They had various things in common with the cartoon, as well as some notable differences. In my continuing series of articles describing the Nintendo Comics System titles, I shall explain more about the Captain N comics, and why they are decent, if not too spectacular.

In Videoland, the video games that people play in the real world come alive. Once, there was balance in the land, with one villain for each hero. Then one day, the vile Mother Brain gathered all the villains together to form a team known as the League of Darkness, dedicated to taking total control of Videoland. The real ruler, King Charles, had vanished, and his daughter, Princess Lana, decided to find someone who could help free Videoland from Mother Brain forever. That person was Kevin Keene, a teenager and video game expert from California, who was transported to Videoland and became Captain N, the leader of the N-Team. With his comrades, Kevin hoped to defeat Mother Brain and her minions once and for all.

Captain N was brave and cunning, and often used his knowledge of video games to get himself through sticky situations. As the worlds in Videoland were based on those found in games in the real world, he knew exactly what to do to get past any perils that he encountered. As in the animated series, Captain N was equipped with a power pad that would allow him to perform such actions as stopping time and jumping higher. His gun-like Zapper could also take out any enemies that got in his way. Unfortunately, the powers in Kevin's weapons were limited, but the heroic teenager would still use his skills and wits to save the day.

Princess Lana often fought by Kevin's side, and proved to be quite useful at times. Her main concerns were trying to find her father, ridding the world of Mother Brain, and protecting the Palace of Power, where the N-Team was headquartered. Kid Icarus (actually Pit from Kid Icarus and Super Smash Bros. Brawl )was a winged god who used arrows to attack and to cause other effects on enemies. Rounding out the team was Duke, Kevin's faithful dog, who sometimes caused some mischief, but was tough when the situation demanded it. Some N-Team members from the animated series such as Simon Belmont and Mega Man were not present in the comics due to licensing restrictions. The same thing applied to villains and locations featured in the cartoon that were likewise not owned by Nintendo. Sometimes joining the N-Team in their adventures was Samus Aran, from Metroid, who had a bit of a crush on Kevin and would do anything for money and to get rid of Mother Brain.

As for Mother Brain, she was a wicked living brain who wanted nothing less than to get rid of the N-Team and also learn the secrets of the Palace of Power. Aiding her were her minions Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo, both of whom were loyal to Mother Brain. However, just like in the animated series, the two villains were quite stupid and often messed things up. In one story, they accidentally infected their leader with a computer virus that placed her in a comatose state and threatened to destroy her hideout. Consequently, Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo had to reluctantly rely on the N-Team to find the antidote needed to wipe out the virus. Sometimes, Mother Brain would send Uranos, a villain not seen in the animated series, to perform her dirty work, but he, too, would fail thanks to Captain N and the rest of the team.

The adventures took place in various parts of Videoland, sometimes in worlds based on those seen in actual Nintendo games and sometimes in the Palace of Power. Captain N had to handle such situations as dealing with a security computer that Mother Brain reprogrammed to believe that Lana was an enemy, exploring a well that seemed to be bottomless, and having his mind switched with that of his dog Duke. Somehow, he would always overcome these situations and set things right. However, he never did defeat Mother Brain for good, at least not in the comics. The N-Team had some chances to do so, such as preventing her from acquiring the zeebetite that she needed to survive, but she would live on to fight another day.

The Captain N comics were similar to many of the other Nintendo Comics System titles in that each story was self-contained. Many of these tales lasted a mere ten pages, with some occasional 1-2 page gag stories. These stories would be reprinted in other comics as well as the Best of the Nintendo Comics System hardcover book following the initial book's cancellation. While the comics ceased to exist, the animated series would continue to air for another two seasons. Had they continued, perhaps such characters from later seasons as Game Boy would have eventually showed up.

Personally, I feel that the Captain N comic series, while not bad, is not as good as the cartoon on which it was based. The plots were only occasionally compelling, but when they were, you would get a true feeling for the characters. The absence of some characters from the show made the comics feel as if they took place in a different continuity, and sometimes, the comics could have used someone like the eternally vain Simon Belmont to provide some comic relief. Still, the comics are not without merit, as some stories were fun, and fans of the animated series can compare the comics with the show to see which is better. Thanks to Internet scans and e-bay, they can do just that.

Captain N had a relatively brief run as an animated star, and an even shorter run as a comic book hero. Had the series run longer, the quality of stories could have improved, and they could have been even more faithful to the cartoon. To check out the stories that were published, hunt them down online some time. This concludes my explanation of the series from the Nintendo Comics System that had their own lines and were self-contained. Next time, I shall combine two more series-Metroid and Punch Out-that did not get their own titles, but were incorporated into special volumes of the short-lived comic series.