Line #3 Fridge/StormHawks


1	[[AC:FridgeBrilliance]]
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3	* In "A Wallop for All Seasons", Junko is summoned back to Terra Wallop so he can sell underwear (er, [[InsistentTerminology frilly delicate whatnots]]) where it turns out that they have an alliance with the Cyclonians. Junko's role as a Storm Hawk squaddie is well known at this point, so why bring him back? To get him out of the way! By having Junko's destiny overridden by the choice of the clan, it forces Junko to either choose the Storm Hawks or his people, a choice that he did not seem capable of making and thus would default to the latter. It gets Junko out of the way without having to kill him, giving both him and the Cyclonians what they want short of taking Junko prisoner in Cyclonia. [[SpannerInTheWorks Then Junko]] [[ChallengingTheChief challenges the chief]] in the Ritual of Strength, undoing the whole plan and causing what he tried to avoid.
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5	* Many aspects of the Code held by the Rex Guardians at first seem arbitrary and pointless, dogmatically followed for the sake of following them. Yet a closer examination reveals that many of the aspects of the Code invoked against the Storm Hawks have practical applications. To go through the challenges over the Phoenix Crystal...
6	** The challenge itself serves as a form of TrialByCombat, allowing both squadrons even ground to press their claim. This means that when a dispute happens, two squadrons won't fight each other in open warfare to determine which cause is in the right, but rather a series of contests.
7	** In the first challenge, Finn defaces the Rex Guardians' insignia which also represents all of Terra Rex. This would be the equivalent of pissing on another country's flag at an international sport event. Given that these challenges were meant to ''avoid'' Sky Knights killing each other in open combat over disputes, of course the Code would be against such displays.
8	** In the second challenge, Stork gets knocked down for unauthorized modifications. As we saw in the first episode with Finn overloading his skimmer, such modifications can backfire spectacularly. Requiring them to be authorized at least means that someone has checked the modifications or allowed it in spite of the risks. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Washing their hands is basic hygiene given the materials they work with being far from food safe.]]
9	** The different material for the jacket clasp is admittedly petty, but in the spirit of competition meant to be fair arbitration having both competitors in the same gear ensures that the losing party cannot disqualify the challenge grounds that the other party had a uniform better suited for the display of technique.
10	** Finally, the duel, where Harrier reams Aerrow for abandoning his ride and not wearing dueling armor. The latter was likely a matter of safety as this was a duel with live weapons, while the later goes into how skimmers are the Sky Knight's key asset as most combat is airborne. Aerrow essentially abandoned what made him a major asset and not some grunt on the ground for a dubious tactical advantage, which if he did not have Radarr to pilot it back down would mean he ''lost'' his ride doing that. PyrrhicVictory at its finest.
11	* However even with the above, the Rex Guardians also show themselves to disrespect the Code in an even more severe way than anything the Storm Hawks do: they hold it as dogma while ignoring the original purpose. In particular, the second challenge displays it perfectly: the Rex Guardian who participates in that challenge doesn't even do anything. He just has squires do it for him. Effectively, he declared that maintaining the very equipment that makes him useful in the battlefield is ''beneath him''. Essentially, the Rex Guardians obsess over the letter of the Code and follow it in that sense, while the Storm Hawks (Finn's stunt with defacing the Rex Guardian's insignia not withstanding) live up to the spirit of it. Thus, what once made Terra Rex the origin of the Sky Knights has become its own downfall.
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13	* [[TricksterMentor Arygyn's]] "[[WaxOnWaxOff games]]" are designed to take each Storm Hawk outside of their comfort zone in some way.
14	** Junko is TheBigGuy of the team and primarily relies on straightforward use of brute force. Arygyn's bumper cars game teaches him the importance of agility and maneuverability.
15	** Piper is the opposite of Junko, already being quite agile but lacking in strength. After Arygyn's training, she's strong enough to send [[TheBrute Snipe]] flying with a single [[MegatonPunch punch]].
16	** Finn is used to shooting multiple targets in rapid succession, so Arygyn's training makes the targets move faster that Finn's eye can follow. The goal of Finn's training wasn't to hit ''all'' the targets, just one vital target.
17	** Arygyn makes Stork take an intense mechanical bull ride to increase his balance. This teaches Stork to both metaphorically and literally take the bull by the horns and thus we see one of the few times Stork takes an active part in the action instead of just staying on the ship or hiding behind traps.
18	** Aerrow often relies on being faster than his opponent in battle. Chasing the roller coaster makes him realize that there is another way to beat them: by luring them into a false sense of security so they stop moving altogether, making them vulnerable.
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23	[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
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25	* Has anyone ever stopped and considered the fate of the Talons that get shot down by the Storm Hawks? Sure, they have parachutes to stop them from getting killed by the fall, but they're useless when you take into account that their just ''floating down into the Wastelands, where they are likely to meet a gruesome, fiery death anyway.''
26	** Even if the lava and wildlife don't kill them, they have no known means of getting out with their rides destroyed, their [[BadBoss superiors]] could probably [[WeHaveReserves care less about sending a rescue party]], and even if they're lucky enough to land on a terra, there's no guarantee it'll be hospitable. If they get hit, they're pretty much screwed.
27	** And what about the Storm Hawks? Do they even know or care if this happens?
28	** Most of the Cyclonians we see keep coming back, though. The easiest one to recognize is the guy with the mustache. He's in almost every group of Cyclonians. Also, Ravess's violin player sidekick. He always gets shot down.
29	*** There's no reason to believe these guys are the same guys. Mustaches are common in the Real World, in Cyclonia they may even be some kind of standard for members of the officer class, the way noblemen used to carry dueling swords as much to match their friends' outfits than to actually fight anyone. Also, Cyclonia is a megacity built into the side of a volcano, I'm pretty sure their population is large enough to have more than ONE violin player...assuming he's actually playing and its not some recording or something. Ravess could just be weird that way. Weird and hot and evil.
30	** If you think about it economically the Cyclonians have a good reason to rescue their own soldiers. Mainly it is more expensive to train a soldier than to rescue one, especially training the non commissioned and commissioned officers.
31	** Though given the type of world they live in, it's likely that soldiers and sky knights receive Wasteland Wilderness Survival Training, so that they can survive in the area that makes up most of the planet.
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33	* According to the (now defunct) official Storm Hawks website, Stork's home terra of Terra Merb is constantly going through natural disasters. While this explains Stork's CrazyPrepared tendencies, there's obviously something wrong with him--he's constantly twitchy and paranoid, his default stance makes it look like he's trying to make himself smaller, and when he isn't manic he's dejectedly predicting the worst scenario and making really dark jokes[[labelnote: Just one example]] As a jester on Terra Vapos, he sang with complete sincerity about how he got to have all of Finn and Aerrow's stuff because they were presumed dead.[[/labelnote]]. Stork's obviously been traumatized into some kind of mental disorder. What's worse? When we meet the Merb Sky Scouts in "Scouts' Honour", they are all chipper and well-adjusted kids. Either they're in for a lifetime of hurt and have no idea...or Stork's life has just been ''that horrifying'' that he's as neurotic as he is.
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35	* The TakeMyHand scene. Yeah, Repton was an UngratefulBastard and tried to stab the guy who tried to save him but ''Stork just saw the guy he tried to rescue fall to his death.'' ''Up close and personal.'' That's probably gonna come back to haunt him.
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37	* Speaking of Repton... he quite blatantly talks about putting Starling in the night's soup. He's killed at least a dozen Sky Knight squadrons... ''what happened to the corpses''? One of Starling's wingmen may very well have ended up Repton's dinner after that battle.
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39	* All of the above makes the old guy who felt the Storm Hawks were too young to be licensed Sky Knights [[StrawmanHasAPoint seem pretty reasonable]].

Context Fridge / StormHawks