History YMMV / CommandoComics

!!YMMV tropes and audience reactions for the comic book:

** "Ramsey's Raiders--Race Against Time": Colonel Strucker and [[MadScientist Professor Faas]] are the Nazi masterminds behind the plot to use [[DeadlyGas nerve agents]] against the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Allies]], including one called Raxin. When they realize that Faas won't be able to finish before Germany falls, they make plans to flee to Chile--eliminating the other scientists in the process because [[HeKnowsTooMuch they knew too much]]--so that Faas can continue his work there. While he's doing so, they'd content themselves with releasing Raxin on New York City.

** "Ramsey's Raiders--Race Against Time": Colonel Strucker and [[MadScientist Professor Faas]] are the Nazi masterminds behind the plot to use [[DeadlyGas nerve agents]] against the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Allies]], including one called Raxin. When they realize that Faas won't be able to finish before Germany falls, they make plans to flee to Chile--eliminating the other scientists in the process because [[HeKnowsTooMuch they knew too much]]--so that Faas can continue his work there. While he's doing so, they'd content themselves with releasing Raxin on New York City.

!!YMMV tropes and audience reactions for the movie:
* AngstWhatAngst: Jenny is shockingly calm for someone who just watched her father ''kill'' a man in a rather gruesome way. To be fair, it's not like anyone else is doing better.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/JamesHorner's steel drum and synth score.[[note]]Except for the bucolic montage with Matrix and Jenny at the beginning.[[/note]] It is no surprise that the score album sold out in one day (still the record for the fastest sellout in the history of Creator/LaLaLandRecords). This was actually the second time an album of music from the movie sold out, as Creator/VareseSarabande's release also flew out of outlets (the La-La Land disc has more music, including [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v4F_SBy69Q the Power Station song - actually written for the film - over the end credits]]).
* BaseBreakingCharacter: Cindy is there to provide sex appeal and comic relief, and how successfully this works depends on the viewer. Some find her shrill and annoying, while others (included Series/SiskelAndEbert, both of whom singled her out as the best part of the film) love her snarky personality and disbelief of the over-the-top action movie she's dragged into. Meanwhile, her waifish and extremely bony figure was probably considered much hotter in the 80s, but can easily ruin her intended sex appeal now.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: While Matrix fights one of the mooks in the motel, they crash into the next room, where a couple is shooting a pornographic film.
* ClicheStorm: If you were to ask the average person to imagine a non-specific 80's action movie, there is a strong chance that they will think of something very close to ''Commando''. The retired special forces guy on a rescue mission to save his daughter from a vaguely-communist foe, becoming a shirtless M60-toting OneManArmy in the process, has certainly received countless parodies over the years. Much of the film's fandom today is drawn from how much of an unashamedly archetypical 80's film it is.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: The villains killing two RedShirt soldiers? Unforgivable. Arnie slaughtering an island full of soldiers? ''Hilarious''.
* CultClassic: While nowhere near as popular as films Arnie would later star in, it's pretty much ''the'' [[TropeCodifier platonic ideal of an "Arnold movie"]], along with being a perfect example of 80s ham and over-the-top action, which has gained it a following.
* EnsembleDarkHorse: Sully. The dude is a CasanovaWannabe with a [[UndignifiedDeath humiliating]] [[MemeticLoser memetic]] death.
* EvilIsCool: Henchmen [[DragonInChief Bennett]] (for being Matrix's PsychoForHire BloodKnight equal in combat, especially hand to hand combat), [[CasanovaWannabe Sully]] (a LaughablyEvil SmugSnake) and [[ScaryBlackMan Cooke]] (an [[FallenHero ex]]-[[EliteMooks Green Beret]] who is also efficient in hand to hand combat).
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
** This movie is [[http://www.amazon.co.jp/product-reviews/B003N0GC88/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending extremely popular in Japan,]] mostly thanks to campy dub that makes it even more enjoyable.
** Like many of Arnold's other movies, this film is really popular in Russia. To the point that Russian action star Mikhail Porechenkov [[http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/D-Day_%28Den%27D%29 directed and starred as the lead role in a remake]] in 2008.
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: This is the film where everyone realised how good Arnold's comedic chops were. Sure, ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars, but his comic timing is incredible.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** A cop describes John Matrix as [[Film/{{Predator}} "one gigantic motherfucker"]].
** The film stars Creator/RaeDawnChong as Arnie's love interest and Creator/AlyssaMilano as his daughter. A decade later, Chong would discover a young waiter and give him his first acting role. That actor [[Creator/ChrisPratt would both marry Arnie's real-life daughter and play a character who owns a starship called the Milano]].
* HoYay: Perhaps the most unintentionally homoerotic movie ever made, particularly where Bennett is concerned. "I DON'T ''NEED'' THE GIRL!"
** Though given how blatant it is, [[StealthParody you have to wonder if it really was unintentional]].
* LoveToHate: Bennett, for being far more awesome than the disappointing BigBad of the film.
* MagnificentBastard: [[GeniusBruiser John Matrix]] is a [[RetiredBadass retired Delta Force colonel]] enjoying a quiet life with his daughter Jenny. When Matrix and Jenny are kidnapped by terrorists aiming to put [[TheGeneralissimo ex-dictator Arius]] back into power, Matrix manages to kill his guard and escape the plane transporting him. Enlisting the help of a flight attendant named Cindy, Matrix bumps off Arius's lieutenants through his own gambits, including: using Cindy as a HoneyTrap and pretending to offer mercy to one before dropping him off a cliff, and all the while piecing together clues to find Arius's island base and gathering up supplies and weapons. Flying to the island, Matrix stages a [[OneManArmy one-man raid]] on the base, killing all of Arius's men before engaging in duels with both Arius and his right-hand man Bennett, rescuing his daughter and going back to retirement.
* MemeticMutation:
** ''"You're a funny guy, X. I like you... That is why I'm gonna KillYouLast."''
*** ''"Remember, X, when I promised to kill you last?"'' ...''"ILied."''
** ''"Don't disturb my friend. He's dead tired."''
** ''"(insert smug proposal), right?" "Wrong!"'' (BANG!)
** ''"[[PreMortemOneLiner Fuck you, asshole.]]"'' [''[[ItWorksBetterWithBullets Click.]]''] ''"[[NoYou Fuck]] '''[[NoYou you]]''', [[NoYou asshole]]."'' [''[[MegatonPunch Smack!]]'']
** ''"You're getting old, John. You're getting old!"''
** "I don't need the girl. '''''[[HoYay I DON'T NEED THE GIRL!!"]]'''''
** The face Bennett makes when saying '''''"I'M GONNA KILL YOU NOW!"''''', doubles as {{Narm}}. Due to ParodyDisplacement, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jdtjvyZn88 this meme is instead more popular when the above line is dubbed in Japanese, again thanks to its camp-gay translation and acting]].
** The entire Japanese dub itself in fact. It became popular on [[Main/ImageBoards 2Channel]] in the mid 2000s, and received many parodies and [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxjGyqbUtxX5vzmD4KE_UeFg-Fh4XqOmA MADs]] on Website/NicoNicoDouga.
** [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice "Let off some steam, Bennett."]]
* MisaimedMerchandising: Diamond Toymakers released a series of action figures based on the movie, despite it being an R rated flick that children shouldn't see.
* NarmCharm: This movie betrays so much common sense that it wraps around 360 degrees to being awesome again.
* PeripheryDemographic: This film has a huge cult following of fans who love it for its offbeat and goofy humour more than its action sequences.
* QuestionableCasting: Bennett, who is stated to be John's only rival when it comes to being a OneManArmy. So why did they cast a guy whose muscle mass is at most ''a tenth'' of Arnold's? [[http://www.cracked.com/article_15076_the-5-biggest-mismatches-in-movie-fight-history.html It even made number 1 on this list of "Biggest Mismatches in Movie Fight History"]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjkp-Qtq2Ss This is in looks only as his acting was enough to scare Arnold himself.]]
* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/BillPaxton is a radio operator. Creator/AlyssaMilano as Matrix's daughter.
* SpecialEffectsFailure:
** When Arnie is holding Sully over a cliff, you can ''clearly'' see the wire running up his pants. It's that kind of movie.
** Several of Arnie's grenades send soldiers flying through the air. Not only is the explosion itself a) a huge distance from the soldiers and, b) relatively small in comparison to the results, but the soldiers are ''clearly'' shown being launched off hydraulic platforms, with the propulsion rods on obvious display, as well as the grass mats used to disguise them shown flying as well.
** All the guns in this movie practically have no recoil. At ''all.'' Arnie fires a machine gun ''one handed,'' and he ''barely misses.''
** When Matrix wraps Cindy's car around a telephone pole at the end of the car chase with Sully, the head on a dummy filling in for Cindy separates from the rest of the dummy body and flies into the air. (watch it frame-by-frame)
** Did anybody notice the dummy soldiers standing at attention outside the island's buildings throughout the massive explosion near the end of the movie? There are multiple opportunities to see the obvious mannequins, since this explosion is shown multiple times from multiple angles, and several of the shots are duplicated.
*** Those same explosions are supposed to have been caused by a few claymore mines that Matrix placed ''outside'' a few buildings... but all the buildings are seen exploding '''from the inside'''.
** During the mall scene there is a part where Matrix swings down from the top floor to the ground floor. During this scene it's very obvious that a stunt double was used.
*** Arnie's stunt double can also be spotted if one looks closely at shots of (1) Matrix being hit by Sully's car in the mall parking garage, (2) certain shots where Matrix drives Cindy's red convertible, (3) Matrix driving a bulldozer through the front entrance of the military surplus store.
*** A quick shot of Matrix throwing Cooke through a motel room door features actor Bill Duke replaced by either a dummy or a stuntman in a very obvious rubber mask.

!!YMMV tropes and audience reactions for the video game and ''Mercs'':
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Pretty much the entire soundtrack of ''Mercs''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQfPILFYihc Have a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HKtLWkkBlY listen.]]
** The theme song to the original arcade game was a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX0rW4bKp3U jaunty little one-minute tune]], memorable for incorporating a militaristic drumbeat. You'd expect most of the home console ports to take the route of adapting the song into a similar-sounding, stripped-down version of itself, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca_WLvlVgYQ and most of them did]]. However, for the [[Platform/Commodore64 Commodore 64]] version, celebrated C64 composer Rob Hubbard - who had [[https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/Rob_Hubbard#Inspiration only heard the original song once, while playing Commando at a pub mere hours before he composed his version]] - instead decided to expand the song into an [[EpicRocking epic, five-minute-long]] remix that takes advantage of the unique properties of the C64's SID sound chip to create a dynamic, inherently [[ElectronicMusic electronic]] sound. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQuR1LHAVI The theme to Commando on Commodore 64]] is remembered not only as the crowning achievement of Hubbard's groundbreaking composing style but also as probably the single most famous Commodore 64 song of all time, and an achievement for [[ChipTune Chip Tunes]] in general. What's more, [[BeyondTheImpossible it was composed in a single night]].
* GrowingTheBeard: Capcom's first few [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] games (ports of ''VideoGame/NineteenFortyTwo'' and ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'') were outsourced to the notorious developer Micronics, and came out [[PortingDisaster very flawed]] as a result. For the NES port of this game, Capcom established their own internal NES development team to stellar effect, beginning a truly remarkable run for Capcom as a third-part developer for Nintendo's 8-bit console.
* IAmNotShazam: The main character in the first game is named "Super Joe", not "Commando".
----

* MisaimedMarketing: Diamond Toymakers released a series of action figures based on the movie, despite it being an R rated flick that children shouldn't see.

** The theme song to the original arcade game was a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX0rW4bKp3U jaunty little one-minute tune]], memorable for incorporating a militaristic drumbeat. You'd expect most of the home console ports to take the route of adapting the song into a similar-sounding, stripped-down version of itself, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca_WLvlVgYQ and most of them did]]. However, for the [[UsefulNotes/Commodore64 Commodore 64]] version, celebrated C64 composer Rob Hubbard - who had [[https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/Rob_Hubbard#Inspiration only heard the original song once, while playing Commando at a pub mere hours before he composed his version]] - instead decided to expand the song into an [[EpicRocking epic, five-minute-long]] remix that takes advantage of the unique properties of the C64's SID sound chip to create a dynamic, inherently [[ElectronicMusic electronic]] sound. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQuR1LHAVI The theme to Commando on Commodore 64]] is remembered not only as the crowning achievement of Hubbard's groundbreaking composing style but also as probably the single most famous Commodore 64 song of all time, and an achievement for [[ChipTune Chip Tunes]] in general. What's more, [[BeyondTheImpossible it was composed in a single night]].
* GrowingTheBeard: Capcom's first few [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] games (ports of ''VideoGame/NineteenFortyTwo'' and ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'') were outsourced to the notorious developer Micronics, and came out [[PortingDisaster very flawed]] as a result. For the NES port of this game, Capcom established their own internal NES development team to stellar effect, beginning a truly remarkable run for Capcom as a third-part developer for Nintendo's 8-bit console.

** The BigGood of the film is named General Franklin {{Franchise/Kirby}}.

* WTHCastingAgency: Bennett, who is stated to be John's only rival when it comes to being a OneManArmy. So why did they cast a guy whose muscle mass is at most ''a tenth'' of Arnold's? [[http://www.cracked.com/article_15076_the-5-biggest-mismatches-in-movie-fight-history.html It even made number 1 on this list of "Biggest Mismatches in Movie Fight History"]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjkp-Qtq2Ss This is in looks only as his acting was enough to scare Arnold himself.]]

* ClicheStorm: If you were to ask the average person to imagine a non-specific 80's action movie, there is a strong chance that they will think of something very close to ''Commando''. The retired special forces guy on a rescue mission to save his daughter from a vaguely-communist foe, becoming a shirtless M60-toting OneManArmy in the process, has certainly received countless parodies over the years. Much of the film's fandom today is drawn from how much of an unashamedly archetypical 80's action film it is.

* EvilIsCool: Henchmen [[TrueFinalBoss Bennett]] (for being Matrix's PsychoForHire BloodKnight equal in combat, especially hand to hand combat), [[CasanovaWannabe Sully]] (a LaughablyEvil SmugSnake) and [[ScaryBlackMan Cooke]] (an [[FallenHero ex]]-[[EliteMooks Green Beret]] who is also efficient in hand to hand combat).

** The entire Japanese dub itself in fact. It became popular on 2Channel in the mid 2000s, and received many parodies and [[https://youtu.be/XgfyGWD64fc MADs]] on Website/NicoNicoDouga.

** The entire Japanese dub itself in fact. It became popular on 2Channel in the mid 2000s, and received many parodies and [[https://youtu.be/XgfyGWD64fc MADs]] on Website/NicoNicoDouga

** The entire Japanese dub itself. It became popular on 2Channel in the mid 2000s, and received many parodies and MADs on Website/NicoNicoDouga

** The face Bennett makes when saying '''''"I'M GONNA KILL YOU NOW!"''''', doubles as {{Narm}}. Due to ParodyDisplacement, this meme is instead more popular when the above line is dubbed in Japanese, again thanks to its camp-gay translation and acting.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Cindy is there to provide sex appeal and comic relief, and how successfully this works depends on the viewer. Some find her shrill and annoying, while others (included Series/SiskelAndEbert, both of whom singled her out as the best part of the film) love her snarky personality and disbelief of the over-the-top action movie she's dragged into. Meanwhile, her waifish and extremely skinny figure was definitely considered hot in the 80s, but can easily blunt her intended sex appeal now.