Nintendo Comics System: Metroid, Punch Out, and the Special Issues

Metroid and Punch Out are two of the most beloved NES games of all time, and in 1990, when the games were turned into comics, they had not even begun to be major franchises. Nevertheless, Valiant was up to the task of illustrating the further adventures of the protagonists of these two series and including them as part of the Nintendo Comics System. Unlike the other titles in the short-lived comic series, neither Metroid nor Punch Out were featured in their own stand alone books. Instead, they were featured in special larger issues simply known as Nintendo Comics System, which featured stories featuring most of the characters from the series' other titles. Since Metroid and Punch Out had the shortest runs of any of the series, I shall talk about both of them in this article. First, however, let me tell you more about the special issues.

The Nintendo Comics System specials were rather like graphic novels in that they featured a number of stories in a single issue. While Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Captain N: The Game Master each enjoyed their own individual comic book titles, they also had stories show up in the special issues. These tales (usually ten pages in length with some short 1-2 page stories) would not be seen anywhere else until they were later reprinted in other issues and hardcover books. Metroid and Punch Out were exclusive to the special issues, of which only two were ever made. These franchises also had stories lasting 1-10 pages long. It is not known whether either series would have eventually had their own comic book. Only the Game Boy comics were not featured in any of the larger issues. Now that I have given you a basic description of these special books, let me explain the two series that were only seen in those books.

The Metroid comics told the story of Samus Aran, who started out as a member of the Federation Police Force and was so highly skilled that she became one of the few people to join the Star-Tracker Squad. Those who were a part of this group would work individually to track down even the most dangerous villains around. However, Samus left the police force under mysterious circumstances and became the galaxy's most heroic bounty hunter. Then one day, a new threat came along in the form of deadly creatures called Metroids. No one could control them except for the evil Mother Brain, who wished to use them to destroy the Federation. Only Samus could infiltrate Mother Brain's hideout and foil her wicked schemes.

Samus' efficiency rating was one to be reckoned with. She (yes, Samus is a female) had never failed a mission in her life, and thus, she was confident that she would take down even Mother Brain's strongest minions. In the only full-length Metroid story ever published, Samus came across her old friend, the bug-like Big Time Brannigan, who likewise had a 100% efficiency rating. Unfortunately for Samus, he was now working for Mother Brain and was ordered to stop the bounty hunter in order to keep his rating, get paid, and survive to fight another day.

Samus was captured, and would get her wish to see Mother Brain's chamber...only not the way she wanted it to happen. However, Brannigan wanted to finish the job by destroying Samus with her own gun, thus making him the undisputed top bounty hunter of the galaxy. Luckily, Samus had managed to rig her gun to explode when triggered, and Brannigan was not only injured, but he was sentenced to being Metroid food, thus losing his life as well as his efficiency rating. Samus' rating was left intact, but since no other longer Metroid stories were ever published, it is unknown if she was ever successful in stopping Mother Brain for good. As I mentioned in the Captain N article, Samus would occasionally be featured in those comics to aid the N-Team in their adventures.

As for the Punch Out comics, they told the tale of Little Mac, a young boy who wanted to be a boxer but did not have the skills to be the best...until he met Doc Lewis, a former boxer himself. With Doc's help, Mac received all the training he needed to become a boxing superstar. From then on, he would participate in matches against some of the world's most powerful boxers. Only two full length Punch Out stories were ever published, and they both had Mac facing not only other skilled fighters, but also other situations and conflicts that threatened to destroy his reputation as a respectable boxer.

For example, in one story, Mac was in Tokyo, scheduled to fight its champion, Piston Honda, who was seen as a killing machine. However, Piston also had a reputation for donating prize money to charitable causes, and planned to use the money he would win for defeating Mac to build a school in his teacher's village. So amazed was Mac by Piston's intentions that he tried to convince the teacher that they could have the money even if he won, but the teacher refused on account that Mac was a foreigner and thus an "outsider." Consequently, Mac decided that the only way that the school could be built was if he intentionally lost the fight.

Initially, Mac failed to even fight back, causing Piston to believe that there was no honor whatsoever in fighting someone he viewed as a coward. Finally, Mac decided to try and keep his honor, in spite of his torn heart, by fighting back, eventually beating Piston in the process. Later, when he and Doc were confronted by Piston's followers wishing to make them pay for beating their champion, it was Piston who saved them. Then, Piston's teacher, pleased that Mac had shown honor in spite of being torn between winning the fight and having Piston win the prize money, considered him as a friend and not an "outsider," and subsequently accepted Mac's donation so that the school could still be built.

In another tale, Mac was weary of having Doc give him more criticism than praise, and decided to have some fun for a change after meeting Vonnie, one of his biggest fans. However, Vonnie's boyfriend, Reg, did not approve of Mac one bit and wanted to be rid of him. Thus, he set up a contest in which Mac would fight against 100 other boxers while racing to win a golden glove. Unfortunately for Mac, these fighters were led by Super Macho Man, one of the strongest boxers around. Mac managed to defeat Super Macho Man and his associates, but refused to accept the prize after realizing that he had been set up and believing that his supposed new friends considered him to be a sideshow attraction instead of a true friend. With that, he returned to the boxing life that he had come to known. After this story, Mac would never be featured in another comic book tale.

The Metroid comics, or what there were of them, showed some promise, but Valiant never gave them an even longer run. The only full length story is somewhat compelling in that it gave Samus a rival who actually threatened to destroy Samus and her efficiency rating. It was predictable that Samus would survive...it was just a matter of how she would manage to do it. Had the Metroid comics lasted longer, more interesting tales could have come along. The Punch Out comics, on the other hand, showed plenty of heart in its brief run. We have a fighter who wants to be the best, but who is also torn by the good intentions of other boxers and by deciding whether the people he meets are his real friends or people who merely use them for their own amusement. The stories of both franchises are among the better ones featured in the Nintendo Comics System series, and they could have continued to be pretty good had the series not been canceled.

While Metroid and Punch Out comics are no longer being created, the existing stories live on thanks to scans found online and complete books showing up on e-bay. As such, people can look at these tales and see how well Valiant can do when they could actually create compelling stories. The two franchises continue to live on to this day, with Punch Out becoming a Wii title in 2009 and Metroid: Other M being prepared for its release in 2010. My explanations of the titles featured in the Nintendo Comics System series is nearly complete. In the final article, I will tell you about the serialized Game Boy comics and how they differed from the rest of the titles.