Follow TV Tropes

Following

Awesome / Wing Commander
aka: Wing Commander Academy

Go To

Film

  • "Give them a broadside, Mister Gerard!"
  • Blair makes the jump to the Sol System, pursued by a Kilrathi cruiser. Realizing mistakenly that Tolwyn's Enigma Sector fleet hasn't made it to the Sol System yet, he transmits the Kilrathi fleet's planned jump coordinates and then lures the cruiser into approaching too close to Scylla, a spectacularly dangerous Negative Space Wedgie that doesn't appear on sensors and is marked only by a particularly unhelpful beacon.
  • When the rest of the Kilrathi fleet jumps into Sol System, they sail head-first into a prepared ambush by Tolwyn's forces, knowing exactly where to wait thanks to Blair's efforts.

Video Games

  • Stating the obvious, but the final mission series in Wing Commander 3 is a highlight for the entire series: four Excaliburs, fighting through a hundred or more fighters and capital ships, a chance to end Prince Thrakhath's boasting once and for all, and finally nuking Kilrah itself which ends the decades long Terran-Kilrathi war.
  • In the first game, where the player has the chance to destroy not just one, but two Kilrathi Snakeir-class carriers in defense of the Firekka. Your commanding officer is nothing short of astounded if you complete the task.
  • Blair finally proving the existence of Kilrathi stealth fighters right before the final climactic battle at K'tithrak Mang. After a decade of having been wrongly scapegoated for the loss of the Tiger's Claw, admonished by a countless many including several of his own comrades and marooned on a space station while the war continued to rage unchecked, Blair finally clears his name and comes roaring back onto the frontlines to once again save humanity from certain disaster.
  • Based on Blair's evidence Angel questions Jazz and quickly figures out he's the traitor. He pulls a gun but she doesn't panic for a second, instead fighting him off and forcing him to flee. She later comes back and tractor beams him in, after Blair blows up his ship so he can stand trial rather that have him executed in cold blood, as she likely would have dearly wanted after what he pulled.
  • In the third game, if you manage to save Locanda IV from a biological attack from the Kilrathi, Rollins chimes in with "Sir, they're gonna be naming babies after you on Locanda IV!"
    • Gets even better if you choose to venture out to save Flint from her suicide run against the Kilrathi. If you succeed, Rollins applauds you with "That was one hell of a job, Colonel! First a whole planet and then a pilot...I'd give you a promotion if I could!"
  • Vagabond punching out his old boss Dr. Severin during his rescue in the third game; reckless as it was, it was some well-deserved payback for the millions who had died in the scientist's many callous demolitions tests earlier in their careers.
    • Doubly so as Severin's rescue allows the Confederation to complete the Temblor Bomb, the weapon that would spell the end of Kilrah.
  • Blair's race to warn the Assembly of the Black Lance, with the Vesuvius hot on the tail of the significantly smaller and poorly-armed Intrepid. Just when they close in for the kill, Captain Eisen rockets onto the scene aboard the supercarrier's sister ship, attacking the Vesuvius head on and buying Blair the precious time he and his crew need to reach Earth.
    • One must also note that Eisen hijacked the vessel clean out of its drydock, with a skeleton crew and unfinished weapons systems, doing battle against a superior enemy. In short, Eisen routed the enemy flying an incomplete ship.
  • The senate hearing in Wing Commander IV, when Admiral Tolwyn and Blair are arguing on the senate floor and discussing Seether:
    Admiral Tolwyn: He's more of a warrior than you will ever be, Colonel. He is excellence personified. He is...
    Blair: He is dead!
    • A Moment of Awesome for actor Malcolm McDowell, as well, as Tolwyn reacts to Blair as if he's just been punched in the gut.
    • A smaller one goes to Paladin, who in spite of Blair's actions against the Confederation does not hesitate to let his former comrade speak, not under armed guard but free to confront Tolwyn on his own terms as the Assembly listens.
    • The entire scene is especially impressive as it is a battle fought through words instead of guns, and Blair is able to beat Admiral Tolwyn at his own game, convincing the entire Assembly of his deceit and ultimately rejecting the war declaration.
  • Anytime Blair gets into a dogfight with Prince Thrakhath qualifies. Blair canonly brought the Kilrathi heir down twice (during the second game and its expansions), finally killing him during their third duel over Kilrah.

Literature

  • In Action Stations, a major Confederation base is subjected to a massive surprise attack by the Kilrathi Empire. Despite being taken almost entirely by surprise, the Confederates put up a noble fight, including a single Terran battleship going toe-to-tie with three Kilrathi battleships to cover the retreat of the surviving carriers. One of the Kilrathi battleships is destroyed directly by enemy fire. The other two are severely damaged in the firefight and end up being caught in the explosion of the Terran battleship and are destroyed or crippled as a result. The Terran battleship skipper's last transmission is lampshaded for seeming a bit cliche, if no doubt inspired:

Wing Commander Academy

  • The Tiger's Claw is attacked while most of its fighter wing is away, and the few remaining pilots are badly outnumbered. Commodore Tolwyn decides to help the best way he can, by taking off in a fighter and joining in the battle directly, flying as Archer's Wing Man.
  • Maniac finally gets to try the hangar deck attack that everyone keeps warning him against. His fellow cadets cover him on his attack run and he ends up laying waste to the Dreadnought's hangar deck. It turns out, Maniac is actually as good a pilot as he thinks he is.
  • Blair and Leatherneck, before escaping the now-wrecked Dreadnought, briefly take control of the ship's helm to ensure that it crashes down directly on the temple the Kilrathi have built, the very same temple Thrakhath is using to base a substantial portion of his forces. Thrakhath loses his flagship and many of his best troops in one fell swoop.

Alternative Title(s): Wing Commander Academy

Top