History Awesome / Contra

* In ''Hard Corps'', we get GTR (or Super Power Robot Yokozuna), who happens to be a large blue humanoid robot that has some skilled attacks. However, there are two things that just add up the awesome factor: his intro (he [[RacingTheTrain runs alongside the train you're walking on]] and then goes in front of it, ''stopping it with his own hands'') and his creative death (he falls off of the train and gets smashed to pieces by said train). The ''Contra'' creators must've thought that this was an awesome boss, because a MKII version of GTR appears in ''Shattered Soldier''. That one also stops the train with its bare hands after catching up to the train.
** Can't deny, Deadeye Joe is another awesome boss if just for the concept when fighting him on stage 2. Outrunning an enemy mech down the highway, not stopping while you unload on them. And by "outrunning", we mean on foot!
** Another awesome robot boss (or rather, ''bosses'') is Takedda Robot (or Tai Gattai Henkei Meka Takeddā Robo), a [[TerribleTrio trio]] of {{Killer Robot}}s that [[CombiningMecha can combine with each other to become even bigger and nastier robots]]. You take on Yellow Airship, Blue Blade, and Red Dolphin one-by-one until they merge together to become a running humanoid robot that backflips across the road, then walks on its drill hands while firing missiles at you. Then the robots merge into a robot bird that fires lightning out of its mouth and tries to impale you with its beak. Finally, the robots merge together to form a TankTreadMecha that either traps you with its spear or fires a rain of missiles to carpet the road with explosions. Upon defeat, the robots try to form again, only to fail spectacularly and explode.
** It also helps that both bosses have one of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCMnmmfkdck best boss themes in the series]]. So awesome, it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcApUEVa7G8 got remixed]] in ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]'' for the mechanical bosses.

** Another awesome robot boss (or rather, ''bosses'') is Takedda Robot (or Tai Gattai Henkei Meka Takeddā Robo), a [[TerribleTrio trio]] of {{Killer Robot}}s that [[CombiningMecha can combine with each other to become even bigger and nastier robots]]. You take on Yellow Airship, Blue Blade, and Red Dolphin one-by-one until they merge together to become a running humanoid robot that backflips across the road, then walks on its drill hands while firing missiles at you. Then the robots merge into a robot bird that fires lightning out of its mouth and tries to impale you with its beak. Finally, the robots merge together to form a TankTreadMecha that either traps you with its [[BladeOnAStick spear]] or fires a rain of missiles to carpet the road with explosions. Upon defeat, the robots try to form again, only to fail spectacularly and explode.

* Meta-wise, the concept of Contra, if you consider how it touches in with the pop culture of the time. It's basically "[[Film/{{Commando}} John Matrix]] teams up with [[Film/FirstBlood John Rambo]] and they kick Franchise/{{Alien}} ass, action movie style.[[note]]Even moreso because Alien is from a horror genre, so kicking its ass instead of it systematically killing the good guys one by one while making the audience piss on their pants is a form of CatharsisFactor[[/note]]". [[CoolVersusAwesome How is that not awesome?]]