Web Animation / A Fox in Space

So, uh...are you really...Star Fox?

Yeah, sure. Whatever.

A Fox in Space (originally known as Star Fox: The Animated Series) is an animated miniseries by Matthew Gafford that serves as a Darker and Edgier (though also rather comedic) adaptation of Nintendo's Star Fox series, primarily drawing inspiration from the SNES original and Star Fox 64. Thus far, the series consists of two episodes out of a planned three.

The series is split between two storylines:

• In the present day, the once-peaceful Lylat System is embroiled in civil war as the tyrannical Emperor Andross leads the disaffected planet of Venom in a brutal war against the ruling planet of Corneria. The famous and heroic mercenary team known as Star Fox are helping turn the tide of the Lylat Wars by carrying out missions against Venom on Corneria's payroll as privateers. But after humiliating their perennial rivals — the Venom-aligned Star Wolf — on a routine mission, Star Fox face their biggest challenge yet when Star Wolf and the Venomian forces vengefully ambush and kidnap team leader Fox McCloud for their own nefarious purposes. Now, Fox must somehow escape his captors, while his friends rush to rescue him from Andross' clutches.

• In the past, the Lylat System is in a time of uneasy peace, as tensions brew between Corneria and Venom as a result of historic grievances and the suspicious rise to power of the very popular exiled scientist Doctor Andross. Famed mercenary team Star Fox, led by the great James McCloud, are roped into an undercover mission to infiltrate Venom and investigate the goings-on of Andross and his followers when Cornerian Defense Force commander General Pepper calls in a favor. Reluctantly, James leads his team into the lion's den, unaware of a betrayal in the ranks and an evil scheme that could be his downfall…

The first episode, "Don't Call Me Star Fox", debuted on April 25, 2016. The second episode, "Fixing a Hole", premiered on March 26, 2023.

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Tropes present in the series include:

A-C

• Abusive Parents:
  • Falco's parents are very dismissive when he points out the guy that stole his scooter.
    Falco: I said I was sorry! Are you just gonna let him—
    Carlo: Shut up and eat your fucking fazool!
    Falco: Yes, sir...
  • While Wolf's father Cael is a good if stern parent (he does put Wolf in his place when he objects to babysitting young Fox, as well as embarrassing him in front of Fara), it's implied that the same can't be said of Wolf's estranged and divorced mom. Cael describes her as "crazy" and it's noted that Wolf apparently chooses to live with his dad just to get away from her.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: In the original game, Andross was abandoned on the uninhabited planet Venom as a form of exile, making his sudden army of robots inexplicable. In this setting Venom has a thriving society of mostly apes, and Andross is a native who is forcibly repatriated before rising to dictatorship.
• Adaptational Jerkass: General Pepper is the Big Good in the games. Here he has to call a favor from James to force him on a mission and James only sees him as lesser evil compared to Andross.
• Adaptational Nice Guy:
  • Andross is much less megalomaniacal compared to how he's been portrayed in the games. Though not above sacrificing several of his men to set up traps, he's a fairly cordial boss and handsomely rewards those who do their jobs. Unlike the original Andross, who just wanted to conquer the Lylat System for the sake of it, this Andross wants to take it over in order to unite the planets against a greater evil.
  • Downplayed with Pigma. He still betrays James on Venom like in the games, but a few brief moments imply he may have mixed feelings about it, which is more than his other versions ever got. He also seems more self-aware about how awful he is and thinks Andross is a lunatic.
• Adaptational Sympathy:
  • Andrew in the games is annoying, fanatically loyal to Andross, and generally the least-liked and respected Star Wolf member. Here, while he still name-drops his uncle, he's quieter, more introspective (sadly wondering if he was ever truly friends with Fox), and seems taken more seriously by his team. It's not yet clear if this is full-blown Adaptational Nice Guy, but he's still much more sympathetic than in the games.
  • Not much is known about Wolf's past in the games, but here it's shown he comes from a broken home and was possibly kicked out of the CFA due to an injury, giving him a Freudian Excuse for his actions.
• Affably Evil:
  • Weeber; he doesn't judge... whatever Fox and Wolf were doing. The Russian-accented gorilla in Sargasso may also count.
  • Wolf. He's quite charming and seems to get along fine with his team and Venomian allies. Most of his nastiness seems reserved for Fox, but even then he has a pretty open, almost brotherly talk with him in Episode 1 despite being enemies.
  • Andross has a fairly cordial conversation with his henchmen and greets Fox politely when they meet at the Sargasso lounge, despite Fox brushing him off. Later, in episode 2, it's made clear he genuinely does mean well for Venom and the Lylat System, even if it means he thinks it would be better if he ruled all of it as a dictator. Everyone somewhat aware of what he plans however like Pigma and Desslar comment that he is a lunatic who must be stopped.
• Affectionate Nickname: Generally a sign of how close someone is to James is whether they call him "James" or "Jim". People he's more distant with, like Andross and Pepper, use the former, while those he's closer towards use the latter, such as Peppy, Dess, and Pigma.
• Age Lift: Fara Phoenix, Faye Spaniel, and Miyu were implied to be around the same age as, or younger than, Fox in the games and comic. Here, they're several years older to be the same age as Wolf.
• Agony of the Feet: Fox is forced to walk barefoot to his briefing with Andross because Wolf threw his boots away. He complains how cold and sticky the floors are.
• Aliens of London: There's a wide variety of distinctly Earthly accents used. Bill has a Minnesotan accent, the Lombardis sound Italian-American, lots of Venomians are given Russian accents, and Captain Shears sounds straight out of Australia.
• Almost Dead Guy: Dess, the contact James meets on Venom to pass on research files from his late wife, is fatally wounded, but manages to hold a several minute conversation and even hide his wounds from the otherwise eagle-eyed former captain.
• Always Someone Better: Fox appears to be this to Wolf, considering Wolf's surprise at how far Fox got on a video game despite being years younger, his irritation at Fox's 99% CFA test score, and how Fox shoots him down in a dogfight in Episode 1.
• Ambiguous Situation: When Fara announces her intentions to become a test pilot, Wolf is quick to say that it seems much too dangerous. Is he concerned for her safety due to the accident that cost his eye? Or is he worried she might try to come find him, or join the full military and he might have to shoot her down?
• Artificial Limbs:
  • James has a prosthetic left arm. He is shown using the hooks on the end as a slingshot, shooting Sagan in the face.
  • Discussed between Fox and Wolf, the latter which believing that the former has artificial legs, only to be proven otherwise.
• At Least I Admit It: Pigma's attitude to life.
  Pigma: Everyone knows I'm an asshole. I was born this way.
• Badass Boast: James when Sonny asks if he thinks he is gonna take him out with a rubber ball fired from his slingshot.
  James: I'll be picking it out of the wall behind you if you cut him.
• Bad Boss: Captain Shears doesn't care about Sagan and Sonny, nor does he pay them for the job he tasked them with. It's somewhat justified as the duo failed to get the Arwing's info out of Beltino Toad and ROB 64 (they almost did until James and Peppy saved them), so why should Shears pay them for a botched job?
  Sonny: Hey, so, uh, we still getting paid?
  Shears: For what, exactly?
  [Beat]
  [Shears hangs up]
• Bad Guy Bar: Despite being apparently neutral, the Sargasso Space Station lounge is a favorite haunt of Venomian mercenaries and outlaws alike. Wolf warns Fox that they don't take kindly to Cornerians.
• Barefoot Captives: Some of Fox's clothing (including his boots) were confiscated by Andross' henchmen as standard procedure. Wolf throws it all off the ship before they took off for no reason other than to annoy Fox.
• Batman Gambit: Wolf pulls off his fighter jet heist by exploiting the personality traits of his friends and family and their relationships with him, expertly predicting how they'll react based off those things. He plays off his dad's generosity and sense of humor to get some extra walking-around money, Fara's infatuation with his bad boy persona to get back into the base after having been drummed out of the CFA, and finally Bill's friendliness and trusting personality to be permitted to take the jet for a spin around the base to impress Fara. He then simply takes off into the night.
• Benevolent Boss: Subverted. Andross treats his henchmen right and rewards them well when they please him, but they're still blatantly terrified of him as there's an obvious unspoken implication that if they ever displease him, there will be horrible consequences. He also has turncoat Pigma Dengar kill two VIA agents for no reason other than to catch James off guard with a trap.
• Berserk Button: Calling Fox "Star Fox" proves to be one of these.
  Weeber: See? I told you it was Star Fox!
  Fox: Oh for God's sake!
  Wolf: What did I tell you?
  Fox: My name is Fox McCloud! Star Fox is my team! Not my name!
  • He later elaborates:
    Fox: No I'm serious! Is this permanent? Is everyone just forever gonna not learn my name?
• Big Bad: Andross, per the original series. Here however he is not yet a disembodied head and pair of hands.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Andross and Captain Shears in the flashbacks. By the present day, Andross has firmly established himself as the sole Big Bad.
• Big Brother Bully: How Wolf tends to treat Fox in the past episodes. James asked Wolf's dad to babysit Fox when he went on a mission which annoyed Wolf to no end, and he embarrassed Fox in front of Fara.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • James and Peppy arrive to save Beltino Toad and ROB from Sagan and Sonny just before they could get info on the Arwing's G-diffuser.
  • Horribly subverted later in the episode. Pigma saves James' life by shooting the lemur VIA agents, but it's just another part of Andross' trap and makes his betrayal of James look even worse.
• Bilingual Backfire: A mute VIA agent accidentally gives away to James that he and his partner didn't bring their guns by speaking in sign language to said partner, unaware James also knows it.
• Bilingual Bonus: One of the VIA agents who try to detain James is mute and speaks to his partner in American Sign Language. If you know ASL, you'll also know just why James is so on edge around them:
  Eckblade's partner: This is why I told you to bring your gun today.
• Black Comedy: The shock of Pigma shooting the VIA agents is offset by James instinctively ducking for cover in his booth and then slowly peeking his head out like a kid as he makes sure the coast is clear while Pigma irritably tells him to get up and get moving.
• Bland-Name Product: Wolf grumbles about Fox playing with his "Fami tapes" when Wolf's father is watching Fox.
• Blatant Lies: Wolf claims that he stacked Fox's clothes neatly in the cargo bay, while Pisci and Weeber threw them out...as flashback footage shows the exact opposite taking place.
• The Bogan: Captain Shears speaks with an Australian accent and is a snappish, condescending dickhead towards his underlings, Sagan and Sonny, in addition to being a traitor to Corneria who spies for Andross.
• Boom, Headshot!: How Pigma takes care of Eckblade and his partner.
• Brick Joke: Fox complains about everyone not knowing his real name and calling him "Star Fox". Later on, Andross actually bothers to remember and call him by his real name… and Fox's reaction is to give him an ungrateful sneer. invoked
• Buffy Speak: Eckblade has heard James uses his prosthesis as a slingshot, so presumably in an attempt to seem professional he awkwardly describes it as an "improvised shooting instrument" when he orders James to put it on the table.
• Bumbling Henchmen Duo: Sagan the Hedgehog and Sonny the Bandicoot, a pair of bumbling goons hired by Captain Shears to get info on the Arwing for Venom by kidnapping and interrogating Beltino Toad and ROB 64.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Andross could kill James, but the knowledge his old friend has of the warp gate project is simply too valuable, and without it, Andross' work would be set back by years.
• Career-Ending Injury: Wolf loses an eye prior to the start of the series, ending his career as a Cornerian pilot. Bill needles him about it when he sneaks on base to steal a fighter, and while the two laugh it off after the fact it's clear it's still a sore spot for him.
• Cerebus Call-Back:
  • Wolf's "I'm your biggest fan" snipe at Fox in the first episode gets decidedly darker and nastier in tone when the second episode shows it used to be something Wolf said a lot to Fox back when they were younger, with the last time Fox heard it being just before Wolf ran away from home.Their dynamic hasn't really changed much since youth.
  • Peppy accidentally insulting Pigma in front of his face and getting ribbed for it in good nature (while also apologizing profusely) is darkly mirrored at the end of the episode when Andross purposefully insults Pigma to his face by making a backhanded comment about mercenaries in his presence, highlighting how Pigma has destroyed his friendship with James and Peppy for money from a man who doesn't even respect him and can't do a thing about it (Andross would almost assuredly kill him for refusing to take the abuse).
• Child Prodigy: Fox was this in his younger days. He tells Fara that he passed the CFA entry test with 99% and that he expects to work computers. Presumably, him seeing Wolf fly a fighter around in Episode 2 is what made him change his mind and want to become a pilot, despite how James doesn't want him anywhere near ships.
• Comical Overreacting: In the 2023 Halloween short, Wolf calls up Star Fox only to catch them in Halloween costumes and start laughing at the idea of them going trick-or-treating. Fox completely flips his lid and starts spewing insults in a single second and screaming as that only makes Wolf laugh harder.
• Continuity Nod: The show generally bases itself on the SNES games' continuity and packs quite a few references to it:
  • Wolf has heard rumors that Fox has robotic legs, which Fox reluctantly demonstrates is false. This references a theory based on SNES era artwork that the Star Fox team are amputees in order to allow more blood to remain in the brain under the strain of g-forces.
  • The characters' voices are designed to sound like the gibberish voice clips from the SNES game's communication channels instead of the more well-known post-64 voices (e.g., Falco speaking with a very deep voice and Fox having a geeky, nasally tone).
  • Slippy speaks with a stutter, which is true to the original SNES game.
  • The Great Fox is nowhere to be seen, instead the Star Fox team's headquarters is the mothership from Star Fox 2.
  • When Peppy turns on fixed aiming of his Arwing in the second episode, the sound effect that comes with it comes directly from menu navigation of the original game.
  • Fay and Miyu of Star Fox 2 fame show up as pilots at the Cornerian base.
• Cool Big Sis: Fara comes off like this towards young Fox; she chides Wolf for asking the kid about adult matters, and is later shown talking to Fox about his interests and if he would want to become a pilot one day.
• Cool Old Guy: More middle-aged than outright old, but Wolf's dad Cael definitely acts the part, being a gruff and stern but ultimately genial and likable Nice Guy who sees right through his son's bad boy performance.
• Cool Shades: James McCloud has them as usual, but they're less opaque than usual.
• Create Your Own Hero: It's hinted that watching Wolf hijack the fighter jet may have been part of what helped Fox gain his love of flying; prior to that, Fox was disinterested in piloting and was planning to be a technician when he grew up.
• Crystal-Ball Scheduling: The bizarre Parody Commercial in episode 2 pretty much telegraphs how the Venom mission goes. Namely that The Bad Guy Wins.
• Curbstomp Battle: Star Wolf ambushes Star Fox at the start of Episode 1... and gets utterly demolished. Not only do all four baddies get shot down in the dogfight, but it's implied they failed to get even one Star Fox member in return: Wolf, Leon, and Andrew are all injured in their next scene, while Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy don't have a scratch on them.
• Cyborg: Andross's henchmen (and maybe State Sec), who have replacement eyes and seemingly enhanced strength. The apparent first-generation ones seen in the 10-years-ago storyline are notably more primitive and robotic-sounding than the modern ones.

D-H

• Dark and Troubled Past: James McCloud went on the Venom mission because General Pepper called in a favor. James admits to Peppy that he made a mistake that Pepper covered him on, but very pointedly dodges the question when pressed for detail. It's later elaborated that he, Vixy Reinard, and Andross were partners on a project involving the warp gates, but something went horribly wrong and Vixy got killed, with Andross being repatriated for it and James only avoiding conviction because Pepper shielded him from the brunt of the fallout. James has spent the years since trying desperately to bury the project and everything related to his past life.
• Darker and Edgier: Compared to the original series, there's more strong language, adult humor, more realistic and graphic violence (such as two mooks getting shot in the head onscreen with a normal-looking gun), and the morality of many characters is more nuanced. It's also literally darker, evoking a Film Noir setting. That said, it also has a lot more straight up comedy than the videogames ever did.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Wolf worries that Fara's father, who is running for Cornerian Premier, will disapprove of him and would rather set her up with a "dandy cadet." His insecurities in this regard are hinted to be part of his motive for stealing the jet and running away from home to start Star Wolf.
• Deadpan Snarker: Bill has his moments:
  Wolf: What do these otherwise lovely ladies have that I don't?
  Bill: How about depth perception?
• Deliberate VHS Quality: The visuals and audio are deliberately made to look as though it's a forgotten animated series that's being played on VHS; the colors look washed out and the audio is fuzzy and heavily compressed.
• Disabled in the Adaptation:
  • Leon has an eyepatch, implied to be an injury sustained in a recent battle with Star Fox. One of his eyes was damaged by the fight with Star Wolf on Venom in Star Fox 64, though, so it's only partial.
  • James has a prosthetic arm with a couple loops of wire for fingers, which he uses for an improvised slingshot.
• The Dragon: Cason Rhys is a huge hyena who works as Andross' apparent Number Two, reporting to him and serving as his muscle, such as when he catches James on the train.
• Drama Queen: Of all people, Wolf. He seems to really enjoy making a perfectly-timed entrance, he uses a lot of dramatic pauses and tension, and can't help but over-emote when in private with Fara, and most of it seems genuine. His dad even calls him out on a tendency to sulk.
• Due to the Dead: The Venom forces capture Fox by ambushing him while he's on Papetoon paying respects at his father's memorial.
• Emperor Scientist: Andross started as a scientist expatriate then gain a following on Venom that made him premier for life. He even states his qualifications is that he is the only one with the brains to rule.
• Enhanced Interrogation Techniques: Beltino Toad is warned that ROB 64 will suffer if he doesn't reveal what he knows about the Arwing.
• Et Tu, Brute?:
  • Wolf initially charms Fara when she sees him piloting a Cornerian ship at the Air Force base, thinking he's showing off. But the excitement turns into shock when Wolf takes the vessel and leaves her, Fox, and an equally shocked Bill. Her surprise turns to hurt and anger when Fara realizes Wolf just used her so he could steal a fighter and make off with it.
  • Averted with James, who has no visible reaction to Pigma selling him out to Andross and seems to take it in stride. Then again, he may have had other things on his mind.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Andross is willing to murder, kidnap, start wars, and sacrifice his own men if need be, but he looks down on mercenaries like Pigma and doesn't mind saying it in front of his face.
  • Ironically, it seems Pigma feels similar about Andross. Traitorous money-loving thug he may be, but at least he isn't crazy.
• Everyone Went to School Together: Fox and Andrew at least went to the Cornerian academy together, Andrew mentioning that they had been roommates. Slippy was very likely there at the same time. While Fox and Wolf's fathers were friends, with Wolf and his dad watching Fox while James was on missions.
• Evil Costume Switch: In Episode 2's "Previously On..." segment, Andross wears a white labcoat. Two years later, after maneuvering himself to the top of a military dictatorship, he's ditched the labcoat and wears black and red. Ten years later still in Episode 1, he's wearing entirely black.
• Evil Is Petty:
  • Wolf's first impulse upon capturing Fox is to humiliate him by dumping his clothes on Papetoon. Plus he lies to Fox about someone else doing it later.
    Fox: That is so childish!
    Wolf: Heh heh. Yeah.
  • More seriously, it's all but explicitly stated that at least part of Wolf's motive for stealing the jet and running away from home — and doing so in a way that would get both Fara and Bill in a lot of trouble — is revenge on the CFA for drumming him out after he lost his eye, or even just to spitefully prove that he can still fly without it.
  • Wolf spends much of Episode 2 annoyed by Fox. Once he realizes Fox has a crush on Fara, he takes out his frustration at Fox by humiliating him in front of her, going on even after Fara tells him to stop. Since Wolf abandons Fara a few minutes later, it's not like he's feeling defensive about someone else liking his girl: he's just being a jerk.
  • Andross as well, to a lesser extent. While he claims to have a more noble purpose, he also states that part of his motivation for becoming dictator is to get back at Corneria for sending him away by improving Venom, implicitly because he thinks Corneria was ungrateful for his genius ideas.
• Evil Laugh: Sonny and Sagan unleash one when they incapacitate ROB. Again, this is taken pretty much verbatim from the Nintendo Power video.
• Evil Sounds Deep:
  • Andross has a very deep voice, which contrasts with his Wicked Cultured demeanor.
  • Wolf has a deep, smooth voice. It's not quite as deep as Andross's, but it still fits his smug personality.
• Eye Scream:
  • Leon loses his right eye in the Fortuna battle at the start of the story when his Arwing gets shot down. When we see him again later at Sargasso, he's clearly nursing a grudge against Fox for it.
  • It's also implied Wolf lost his own eye in an accident while at the Corneria Flight Academy.
• Family-Friendly Firearms: Averted, compared to the games. Despite the sci-fi setting, the gun that Pigma uses to kill the two VIA agents sure looks and acts like a regular modern firearm.
• Fantastic Noir: It's Star Fox done In the Style of classic neo-noir movies, so you have talking, spaceship-flying animals acting out a gritty story about war and crime.
• Fantasy Conflict Counterpart: The Lylat Wars and their build-up are portrayed as akin to the rise of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, with Andross depicted as a Vladimir Lenin-esque populist figure who seized control of Venom and a lot of emphases on Cloak and Dagger wetworks and indirect guerrilla warfare befitting the 70s Spy Fiction vibe of the series. The Venom mission itself is similar to events such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Accordingly…
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Corneria and Venom are given a distinct United States and Soviet Union flavor respectively. Unlike the USA and Soviets, their cold war doesn't stay cold for long.
• Film Noir: The dark visuals, moody lighting, and jazzy soundtrack makes this series resemble the neo-noir style that was popular in the 70s and 80s.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: When Sonny orders ROB to tell him about the G-Diffuser, you can see Beltino Toad spot James and Peppy arrive off-screen and brace himself a second or so before James shoots Sagan in the head with a marble.
• Flipping the Bird: Miyu gives a good-natured one to Wolf when he playfully makes fun of hers and Faye's piloting skills.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Andross isn't a floating head and hands yet… but his more twisted future form is hinted at by him wearing a heavy black suit that covers all of his body except his hands and face and easily blends into the background. In the intro to the second episode, he's seen near a glass case with a disembodied brain and eyes floating in it, referencing his true form in 64.
  • When Miyu asks Wolf "How's the, uh..." (referring to his missing eye), he answers "Gone forever, didn't even leave a note." Wolf shortly afterwards departs for life without leaving a note.
  • The original Star Fox crew are introduced in Episode 2's title sequence with cool action shots… except Pigma, who's just shown counting a stack of bills.
  • When the original Star Fox team sees a news interview featuring Andross speaking about his political views, a suddenly sullen Pigma vocally and uncomfortably dismisses Andross as a lunatic before making an excuse to leave.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus:
  • In one flashback, Andross is shown reading files on James McCloud and Peppy. The files are only on-screen for a second, but pause and you'll find there's some pretty interesting details about Peppy in them, such as that his full first name is Pepperidge, and he was born in 1952. Canonically, Peppy is 41 years old by the time of the Lylat Wars, which means the war takes place in 1993 - the year of release for the original Star Fox on SNES. Conversely, James has nothing in his file except a picture; literally everything is covered in black ink.
  • When the two VIA agents confront James on the train, he is seen quickly loading a peppermint as ammo for his slingshot. Prior to that, the bowl to the left of James at the bar contains some peppermints that go missing. James' marbles were confiscated at customs, so he had to find a replacement.
  • When Pigma beckons James to follow him into the darkened train car, you can see Rhys' glowing white eyes to the left, waiting to ambush James. Since the car has random lights on the wall to the other side, it's easy to overlook them.
• Friendly Enemy: Fox and Wolf, to a degree. They hate each other and take every opportunity to get under one another's skin, but there's a strange and undeniable brotherly feel to their interactions.
• Funny Background Event:
  • When Carlo Lombardi pounds the table, his spoon drops into his soup. Falco starts talking again, and while he does that, Carlo glares at his now-spoonless soup.
  • When Peppy and James are in the car together, for a brief moment you can see a spider crawling on the back seat.
• Genre Throwback: To neo-noir TV series of the 70s and 80s like Miami Vice, with a moody and neon-drenched atmosphere and jazzy soundtrack.
• A Glass in the Hand: Non-glass example; Leon snaps the tip of his pool cue once Fox finishes his rant in the Sargasso lounge.
• Good Counterpart: Fara's father seems set up as one to Andross, as both are running for premier at the same time on different planets and expected to win in a landslide.
• A Good Name for a Rock Band: Fara vows to name her first ship "Dandy Cadet," after Wolf uses the phrase to describe the sort of man her father would prefer she date.
• Good Parents: In an ironic mirror of Falco's situation, Wolf's dad is a genial and well-meaning guy who, at worst, is maybe homophobic given an offhand comment he makes concerning the person who styled Wolf's hair.
• Goofy Print Underwear: Fox's boxers have "Docking request granted" printed on them.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Whatever is beyond the warp gates that Andross wants to unite Lylat against, implicitly the Aparoids.
• Helicopter Parents: Fox tells Fara at one point that his father doesn't want him anywhere near a ship, likely out of a desire to protect him after losing his wife (and Fox's mother) Vixy in the teleporter accident on Titania.
• History Repeats: In Episode 1, Fox is captured due to a former colleague (Andrew, his old roommate) and brought before Andross, who has an offer for him. In Episode 2, we learn James was captured due to a former colleague (Pigma) and brought before Andross, who has an offer for him. In Andrew's case, though, he just happened to remember a detail that the Venomians could exploit; he and Fox were already enemies by this point.
• Hollywood Silencer: The gun that Pigma uses makes the distinctive quiet "fwip" when he shoots it.
• Hypocritical Humor: Falco's parents are shocked when Falco swears by taking God's name in vain, then his dad swears much more severely by telling him to shut up and eat his fucking fazool, to which Falco's mom just tells him to watch his language.

I-Q

• I Am Not Shazam: In-Universe. Star Fox is Fox's team, not his name, and this is a sore spot for him. Funnily enough, while he's head of the similarly named Star Wolf, Wolf is spared from such confusion and is referred to as either O'Donnell or simply Wolf by those around him.
• I'm Standing Right Here: Peppy confides in James that he doesn't actually like Pigma very much… just as Pigma walks into the station they're in. Pigma, for his part, laughs it off.
• Inexplicable Cultural Ties: Corneria apparently has equivalents of Minnesota, Australia, and Italy, judging by Bill, Shears, and the Lombardi family, respectively. Even Christianity exists, as Carlo is wearing a cross and objects to taking the Lord's name in vain.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: It's implied Wolf feels insecure about Fox's talent, which is why he picked on Fox as a teen and has a grudge against him in the present.
• Interspecies Romance: Wolf (self-explanatory) and Fara (a fennec). Andross also hints that he had feelings for Vixy before she married James, as in the comics, but it's unclear if she ever reciprocated at all.
• Irony: The disks Andross needed to advance his warp gate research were hidden by James on Venom, right under his nose.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Carlo Lombardi's kind of a dickhead to his son, getting aggressive and shouty when Falco tries to press the issue about Sagan and Sonny outside with his stolen scooter. However, his assessment that they shouldn't get involved unless Falco has proof is valid, as they could have been mistaken about the situation.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk:
  • Wolf. Don't let the smooth Lovable Rogue act fool you. He's the sort of man who will abandon his family and manipulate his girlfriend and friends for his own personal gain at the drop of the hat, as proven when his "date" with Fara turns out to be the cover for a scheme to steal a fighter jet.
  • Pigma as well. While he's introduced acknowledging that he's an asshole, he seems to save James' life from two VIA agents when the chips are down, only to reveal himself as an Venomian turncoat seconds later.
• Just Before the End: The flashback sequences are set just before Andross' take over of Venom, Pigma's betrayal of the original Star Fox team, and onset of the Lylat Wars. Things are peaceful but tensions are building throughout the Lylat System and a sense of dread and authoritarianism is sweeping over Venom as Andross gains power.
• Know When to Fold 'Em:
  • Sonny realizes he's outmatched when James and Peppy arrive to rescue Beltino, so he gives up trying to get any more information for Captain Shears and puts his knife away so they'll let him and Sagan leave peacefully.
  • Near the end of the episode, after James karate chops Rhys in the neck to no effect, he decides to come quietly to Andross instead of trying to escape.
• Kubrick Stare: Andross gives one of these on his talk show interview (complete with looking directly at the camera) when he says "Only I have the brains to rule Lylat."
• Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Andross wears one of these when he's first dropped off at Venom, but by the time of Episodes 1 and 2 he's ditched it for other outfits (unless he's posing for a campaign poster to emphasize his doctor credentials.)
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Andross says his most iconic line while looking directly at the camera. In-universe it makes sense because he's talking to a studio audience, but it's still a wink from the author to the Star Fox fandom.
• Loose Lips: The Nintendo Power promotional video homages continue when ROB 64 wakes up.
  ROB: Beltino, you did not tell them about the G-Diffuser, did you?
  Sonny: No, ROB, you just did!
  ROB: I did?
  Beltino: You did.
• Lovable Rogue: Pigma certainly makes himself seem like this, but the "lovable" part proves to be an act. Wolf is much better at it.
• MacGuffin: In Episode 2, a set of disks made by James's wife (and Andross's former love interest) Vixy Reinard before the disaster on Titania implied to be what caused her death. They contain vital research information that Andross needs.
• Manipulative Bastard: It's revealed Wolf is one of these in Episode 2. He takes advantage of his father to get extra money, Fara to get inside the base, and Bill to get into the cockpit of a spacecraft, which he promptly steals, lying to each one and playing on their relationship with him the whole way.
• Medium Blending: In order to emulate the look of the original games, while the characters and props are in 2D animation, exteriors, architecture, and ships are rendered in the blocky polygonal Super FX chip style.
• Mickey Mousing: The final two notes of the song being played during James and the VIA agents' standoff is punctuated by the sound of Pigma's weapon killing both agents.
• Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Desslar Coba was fatally wounded at some point while retrieving the disks and clearly knows it. But he pushed himself for hours, possibly days, far beyond what he should've been capable of in order to get the data to Corneria. He barely lasts minutes once he finally gets the disks into James' hands and promptly dies right there in his seat on the train.
• Minnesota Nice: Bill, both in accent (which also sounds a touch Canadian) and attitude. Wolf teases him for this and calls him "curd-chewin'", so apparently similar stereotypes exist on Corneria.
• Missing Mom: Fox's mother Vixy is dead when the Episode 2 flashback begins. It's only by the end of the episode that we learned what happened to her: she died in an accident on Titania—the same one Pepper covered James for and which got Andross expatriated.
• Mistaken for Gay: Weeber picks the exact wrong moment to walk in on Fox proving to Wolf that he doesn't have robotic legs, specifically seeing Wolf crouching down and staring at Fox's boxers. Wolf sheepishly tries to explain what's going on, while Weeber gives a standard "I'm not judging" speech.
• Moment Killer: Wolf kills his own moment with Fara, who is commenting on his unusually sweet behavior, by honking her boob.
• Mordor: Venom is a planet that seems permanently covered in ominous-looking yellow clouds and is full of dark mountains. The only place that has sunlight is a desolate desert seen at the start of Episode 2.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Implied. Pigma is noticeably and uncharacteristically sullen just before and after betraying James, possibly suggesting he had mixed feelings on selling out his old friend.
• Mythology Gag: While the series is based on the SNES pre-reboot continuity, it still references other Star Fox media:
  • Papetoon is a planet that originated in the Nintendo Power comic as Fox's homeworld before being referenced in the Japanese manual of Star Fox 64 and one of the endings of Star Fox Command.
  • Caiman, who appears in Star Fox 64 in Area 6, is referenced in the graffiti on the walls of the Sargasso lounge.
  • Fara Phoenix, from the Nintendo Power comic, appears, as does Captain Shears from the "Farewell, Beloved Falco" manga. Fara also says she wants to become a test pilot, as she was in the comic, but so far it's unknown if she actually does or if this is just a reference.
  • The Star Wolf team's injuries from their fight with Star Fox on Fortuna seem to match their appearance on 64's Venom II.
  • Early on in episode 1, Peppy is seen sipping from a mug with the Space Dynamics logo printed on it. This is a company that makes a small cameo in Assault and according to background material, built the Great Fox and Arwings used by the team in the games.
  • Several lines are direct shout-outs to infamous ones from 64 in particular:
    • Andross declares in a talk show appearance that "only I have the brains to rule Lylat", referencing his voice line from just before his true final phase as a boss.
    • An actor in the Parody Commercial yells "I can't believe I lost to this scum!", which is a line quoted from Meteo Crusher's pilot at the end of his fight.
  • The aforementioned commercial is for a cleaning product called "Nova Bomb", which is the name for Smart Bombs in the original game.
  • There's a campaign poster for Fara's father across the street from the Space Dynamics lab, an allusion to how he was the CEO of the company rather than Beltino in the original comic.
  • The original continuity portrayed Pigma as a member of the original Star Fox team and an old friend of both James and Peppy before his betrayal. The Zero continuity instead suggested that he was a new addition to the team for the Venom mission and that they didn't know him, with the implication he was a plant by Andross. This story goes for a middle ground by depicting Pigma as not being a regular member of the old Star Fox team but still having worked with them plenty of times while being friends with James but not Peppy, explaining why the two of them trusted him to watch their backs on Venom but still keeping him as a bit of an "outsider" to the team.
  • The cyborgs in the flashback story have the same eyes Andrew got after several encounters with Star Fox in Star Fox 64, though he doesn't yet here. Considering that they're a ten-year-old model by that time, it suggests that Andross might not return his nephew's affection so much in this universe.
• Naked People Are Funny: Well, half-naked. But this is presumably why Wolf dumped Fox's shoes and other clothing items.
• Neck Lift: Not technically a neck lift, but the effect is the same: Rhys grabs James by the hand and easily lifts him off the ground, showing off his incredible strength.
• Neck Snap: Wolf threatens to break Fox's neck if he "tries anything" at the Sargasso Lounge. Judging by Fox's reaction, he believes Wolf could do it.
• Never My Fault: When Fox expresses shock and disgust that Wolf and company ambushed him at his father's war memorial and illegally took him prisoner, Wolf coldly responds that Fox had it coming for screwing Star Wolf out of their pay and embarrassing them on Fortuna.
• Noodle Incident:
  • The hectic Fortuna battle between Star Fox and Star Wolf that kicks off the whole plot in the present day segments is given a brief glimpse in the fake Previously on… segment at the start of episode one, but otherwise goes unseen, only described indirectly or its aftermath shown.
  • The "mistake" James made on Titania in his past that General Pepper made "go away". Whatever it was, Pepper is able to call in the favor years later to strong-arm James and the original Star Fox team into taking part in the Venom infiltration job despite their reluctance. It seems to have something to do with James, Vixy, and Andross' warp gate experiments that went horribly wrong.
  • A more humorous example happens when the customs officers processing James' and Peppy's arrival on Venom begin to argue, with one of them accusing the other of still being "hung up on that flowerpot". It becomes clear through dialogue that the customs officer who was gifted the flowerpot has turned it into a makeshift ashtray for his smoking habit instead of its intended use.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Andross tries this on James, saying they are both scientists at heart.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: When James refuses Andross' offer to work together, saying it doesn't appeal to him, Andross implies he'll find some way to get his cooperation.
  Andross: If you won't change your mind... I'll just have to change it for you.
• Oh, Crap!: Falco's reaction to finding Fox's clothes on Papetoon.
• Orange/Blue Contrast: Throughout the series, blue is usually associated with Corneria and orange/red with Venom. The Star Fox base, Pepper's office, Space Dynamics Labs, random streets and freeways, and even the Arwing cockpits and screens all have blue lighting. The Meteo base, Andross' office, the Venomian spaceport, and the train tunnels all use red or orange lighting, and Venomian soldiers or agents typically wear red clothes or visors.
• Origins Episode: The flashback storyline depicts the disastrous mission that kicks off the Lylat Wars that are being fought in the present day segments, as well as the backstories of the various characters.
• Overly Long Gag: Bill nervously asking if Wolf is coming back, as Fara stares after him.
• Parody Commercial: A surreal commercial for a cleaning product plays on Wolf's TV in the second episode, mostly as a set up for a Mythology Gag.
  Ape: I can't believe I lost to this scum!
• People's Republic of Tyranny: Venom is one by the present day, and we get some glimpses of it falling to Andross' tyranny in flashbacks.
• Permanent Elected Official: One of the first big signs of Venom's descent in tyranny is when the ruling Cabinet very suddenly announces that they won't be bothering holding elections that year in favor of just directly appointing Andross as premier… and Andross is popular enough to get away with it.
• Plot Parallel: The basic premise and driving goal of the two storylines is basically the same; a member of the McCloud family who leads Star Fox is captured by Venom thanks to a betrayal from an old friend and must try and escape from Andross.
• Precision F-Strike: Courtesy of Falco's father, Carlo when his son tries to get him to confront the man that stole his scooter.
  Falco: I said I was sorry! Are you really just gonna let him -
  Carlo: SHUT UP AND EAT YOUR FUCKING FAZOOL!
• Precocious Crush: In the flashback, Fox has a subtle crush on the older Fara—something Wolf quickly picks up on and embarrasses him about, saying Fox Likes Older Women.
• President Evil: Andross is premier^note a title usually associated with the Soviet bloc in the West, though Corneria's leader has the same title of Venom, and episode 2 shows that he was elected by a "special session" and has held on to the position for decades.
• Previously on…:
  • The first episode opens with one of these, revealing that the Star Fox team has recently completed a security detail on Fortuna where they defeated Star Wolf, setting the events of the episode in motion.
  • The second episode shows James and Peppy meeting with Pepper, who explains Andross' rise to power and sends them on a mission.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Unlike many Venomian officers in the games who are fanatically loyal to Andross, most of the ones in this series come off as regular people just doing their jobs. In particular there's Sergeant Kromer in Episode 1, who detains Fox but, unlike Wolf, doesn't seem to hold him any personal ill-will.
  Fox: We were just doing our job!
  Sergeant Kromer: And I'm just doing mine.
• Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Rhys doesn't flinch at all when James karate chops him in the neck.
• The Quisling: Captain Shears, a Cornerian military officer who secretly reports to Andross and acts as the secondary antagonist during the flashback storyline.

R-Z

• Race Lift: In the original games, Falco's ethnicity was generally left up to interpretation based on his Italian surname, Lombardi. In this animation, Falco's family (introduced in episode 2) are very discernably Italian. They're introduced eating at an Italian restaurant as Italian music plays and they all have Italian accents (Carlo Lombardi's is especially pronounced).
• Red and Black Totalitarianism: Venom has a strong red color scheme, whether it's the clothes they wear or the lighting, with many areas being rather dark and only lit up by red lights.
• Retcon: In Episode 1, Fox says he's had a rivalry with Wolf "since we were in academy," implying they were at the same flight school at the same time (though not necessarily the same graduating year.) Episode 2 shows Fox got accepted to the CFA after Wolf already left, and since Wolf steals a fighter jet during the episode, it's not possible Wolf came back while Fox was there.
• Retraux: The series is made to look like it was created in the 1970's and transferred from an old, decaying film reel: the art style is rough, mimicking the look of xerography, the visuals are intentionally oversaturated as if the film dyes are fading, specks and strands of dust occasionally flicker on-screen, and the audio is crackly and cuts off high frequencies to sound like it was taken from a degraded optical audio track. The second episode has a faux copyright date of 1981.
• Retro Universe: Despite the futuristic space setting, the aesthetic, technology, and general attitude of the series is firmly late 70s to early 90s.
• Revisiting the Roots: The series generally eschews later games like Adventure and Assault in favor of sticking to the lore, characterizations, and aesthetics of the original SNES and N64 Star Fox games. A few of the later games get nods (such as Wolf having his Assault gruff Noble Demon personality instead of his posh Smug Snake 64 character and hints at the Aparoids), but for the most part the series is rooted very firmly in SNES/64 mythology, such as the pointed absence of characters like Krystal or Panther.
• Rewatch Bonus: In the flashback, once you know that Wolf is planning to steal a Cornerian fighter and run away, a lot of his behavior during the episode takes on new meaning, like asking his dad for money or checking his pulse nervously before talking to Faye and Miyu.
• Riddle for the Ages: How did Desslar get ahold of the disks, what was he doing on Venom, and what killed him? Those and a lot of other questions are left hanging over him after the character's exit, but none of them are answered. Lampshaded by Desslar himself.
  Desslar: You don't have any friends, Jim. Don't think too hard about it.
• Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Captain Shears' attempt to capture James in order to get information on the Arwing inadvertently crashes into Andross' own personal scheme to capture the Venom infiltration team and the disks when Shears' agents accost James on the train right as Pigma is about to spring the trap. Unperturbed, Andross just has Pigma shoot the lemurs to lull James into walking the final steps into the trap.
• Rule of Symbolism: Pigma's introduction and Establishing Character Moment is punctuated the train the original Star Fox team is about to board blaring it's horn in a manner similar to a death knell, pretty much signaling that things are about to go sideways.
• Rules Lawyer: Fox requests neutral third-party arbitration when he's captured by the Venomians. Sergeant Kromer says he can't because the article only applies to prisoners of war, and that Fox isn't a P.O.W. because he wasn't on a military mission when he was shot down, but a personal trip.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: A heroic example: Pepper is able to shield James from any consequences for the accident on Titania that got Vixy killed, while Andross isn't so lucky. Downplayed, since Pepper later uses the incident to strongarm James into accepting the mission to go to Venom.
• Secret Police: The VIA, Andross' personal enforcers and one of the major threats during the original Star Fox team's mission to infiltrate Venom.
• Shout-Out:
  • The opening sequence introducing James, Peppy, and Pigma in Episode 2 is done in the style of Cowboy Bebop's opening. Interestingly enough, a warp gate project gone horribly wrong is also important in that show's lore.
  • Young Wolf has posters in his room for a wide variety of anthro-fied movies and bands from the 70s and 80s, such as Phantom of the Paradise and They Live!.
  • The motto "Leave Luck to Heaven" on the back of James McCloud's jacket, is what "Nintendo" loosely translates to in English.
  • The second episode sees Beltino Toad captured by a pair of thugs: Sagan the hedgehog and Sonny the bandicoot. Sonny distracts Beltino by asking for the time while Sagan knocks him out from behind. They want information on the Arwing, and threaten to crush ROB 64's head with a clamp if he doesn't talk. There's a flashback to a scene where the thugs, disguised as deliverymen, incapacitate ROB with a trapped pizza box, and when ROB 64 reboots, he inadvertently spills confidential information that Beltino withheld. This entire scene is a straight recreation of a promotional video produced by Nintendo Power where two thugs in SEGA and Sony shirts ransom people for information on Star Fox 64, just with A Fox in Space characters substituting in for the actors, and the Arwings' specficiations replacing the story and technical details of 64.
  • The Halloween 2023 short features the Star Fox team in cosplay. The appropriately FOXHOUND-colored Fox is Solid Snake, Peppy is Beetlejuice, Falco is Winslow and Slippy is Gamabunta.
• Skewed Priorities: Fox is much more upset about looking foolish in front of Wolf than about being captured by him and taken before the Big Bad.
• Slasher Smile: Wolf flashes a sinister-looking one at Fox when the two are left alone after the latter's capture. It seems as though Wolf might do something heinous to Fox, but ends up only asking him an embarrassing question. In the second episode, he mocks him with the same smile after a mean-spirited joke about Fox being into older women.
• Smug Smiler: Wolf, especially in his teenage years, loves to arrogantly smile at his own jokes.
• Space Cold War: Episode 2 in particular has this vibe, with Corneria and Venom not in open war yet but spying on each other.
• Speech Impediment: Slippy stutters and has an even harder time speaking when he gets excited, needing to take a deep breath and slow down in order to communicate.
• Spotting the Thread: James and Peppy immediately know something's up when they arrive at the Space Dynamics R&D building, noticing that the lights are off and that a stone is keeping the doors open. Sure enough, they end up rescuing Beltino and ROB from a couple of goons.
• Spy Fiction: Especially in the flashback scenes. The focus is less on the frontline battles of the Lylat Wars and more on the Cloak and Dagger operations underpinning and leading up to said wars.
• Start of Darkness: Wolf's is implied to begin as far back as when he was discharged from the Cornerian Air Force, ostensibly for losing an eye and being unable to pilot a ship properly any more. Between that and being full of doubts about being good enough for his girlfriend, the daughter of a high-profile politician, he steals a Cornerian fighter jet under pretenses of borrowing it to show off for her, a prelude to his eventually working as a mercenary for Andross.
• Stupid Evil: Not necessarily evil, but Wolf decides to throw Fox's clothes out onto Papetoon's surface and leave him half-naked for the entirety of the first episode. It bites Wolf in the ass hard when Andross shows up and asks him where the rest of Fox's clothes are. Not to mention Falco proceeds to find Fox's clothing, putting the rest of the team on the Venom forces' trail.
• Take That!: Beltino's overview of the Arwing reveals that it has the ability to aim and fly in different directions. Peppy promptly asks if it can be turned off, referencing the contentious reaction to the mechanicinvoked when Star Fox Zero featured it.
• Tap on the Head: James attempts the "karate chop on the neck" version on Rhys, though all it does is make his target angry.
• The Teetotaler: Wolf offers whiskey to Fox but Fox turns it down, stating he doesn't drink, a fact which Wolf immediately mocks him for.
• Tranquil Fury: When Dess gives James the research data that initially belonged to Vixy, he gets noticeably angry when he sees them, likely because they're a reminder of his late wife and the past he tried to bury.
• Two Lines, No Waiting: The series goes back and forth between the present-day storyline with Fox being captured by the Venomians, and an extended flashback sequence showing How We Got Here.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Andross makes a nasty, disparaging crack about mercenaries that makes clear he sees them as lesser, right in front of Pigma, a mercenary single-handedly responsible for handing Andross his victory on a plate.
• Un-Installment: The first episode opens with a Previously on… segment to a nonexistent prior episode about Star Fox humiliating Star Wolf during a security detail on Fortuna. The second episode has an identical segment showing a made-up episode in which General Pepper calls in a favor from James for the Venom mission and Captain Shears sends Sonny and Sagan after Beltino.
• Uptown Girl: In the flashback sequences, Wolf is dating Fara Phoenix, who is the daughter of an influential Cornerian politician. Strife arises in their relationship when Wolf fears getting serious because he thinks Fara's father will disapprove of him for being "lowborn", despite Fara insisting otherwise. Deconstructed, as his insecurity over the matter is hinted to be part of his motive for going rogue and running away from home to start Star Wolf.
• Used Future: Lots of 70s and 80s Cassette Futurism aesthetics, truthful to both the original games and the retro TV shows the series homages.
• Villain Respect: Andross naturally holds James in high esteem since they used to be friends and coworkers, to the point he asks James to help him in his plans. But more impressively, he admires Fox, too, despite never meeting him before. Wolf even describes Andross as "a bit of a fan."
• Villain with Good Publicity: Andross in the flashbacks, demonstrating his rise to power as a populist political figure on Venom. Judging from his election posters, it looks like his public image is one of a kind doctor caring for children. He's also seen being escorted by his cadre of VIA cyborgs, each of whom sports a red sash.
• Visionary Villain: Since his expatriation, Andross has been carefully planning to become elected as Venom's head of state, after which he can use his power to turn the planet into a thriving autocracy and eventual seat of a unified galactic government. By the end of episode 2, he's already well underway. And he implies to James that all of this is secondary to protecting the galaxy from something (implied to be the Aparoids) that he glimpsed on the other side of a wormhole.
• Visual Pun: The "I can't believe I lost to this scum!" line from 64 is featured in the form of a Parody Commercial in which an ape trying to clean his bathroom loses to literal soap scum because he didn't use the right product.
• We Can Rule Together: In Episode 2, Andross asks James to help him in his plans but is refused. Presumably he has something similar in mind when he meets with Fox at the end of Episode 1.
• We Have Reserves: Implied. Eckblade and his partner, two loyal and trained VIA agents, are set up by Andross to be killed by Pigma to trick James into a trap.
• We Used to Be Friends: A recurring theme.
  • Andrew Oikonny and Fox bunked together in the academy and seem to have been good friends. Andrew is implied to harbor some guilt and misgivings over how they've ended up on opposite sides.
    Mercenary: Weren't you friends with that Fox guy?
    Andrew: [sighs] I dunno...
  • As per the canon material Pigma and Peppy used to be on the same team until the former betrayed the latter and James, which Pigma is all too happy to needle Peppy about. Downplayed, as Episode 2 indicates that Pigma was more James' friend than Peppy's, as the latter admits he wasn't much of a fan of him.
  • James and Andross were once friends and partners on the warp gate project. Andross seems to harbor some odd sentimentality for James even after they've become enemies.
  • Downplayed with Fox and Wolf — their families were on good enough terms for James to entrust Wolf and his dad with babysitting Fox while he goes on missions, but the two personally were neutral towards each other at best. Still, it beats their current relationship as out-and-out enemies.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: At the end of Episode 2, Andross reveals to James that the reason he's becoming dictator of Venom and ultimately sets his sights on all of the Lylat system is that he believes he's the only one who can save it from what is heavily implied to be the Aparoids.
• Wham Line:
  • A simple Continuity Nod calling back to Star Fox 64 is framed in a shockingly serious manner when Andross is being interviewed just prior to his ascension to dictatorship:
    Andross: I’m the only one that’s ever going to make all these changes a reality, and I give you my word they’ll be made within one term.
    Newscaster: "The only one". And what qualifies "only you" to make all this happen in one term?
    Andross: Heh. It’s simple, really…only I have the brains to rule Lylat.
  • For any seasoned Star Fox fans, this line Andross gives to James puts the former's actions in a new light:
    Andross: You saw what was on the other side of the hole… and they know we're here!
• Wham Shot:
  • When Bill lets Wolf take a Cornerian fighter out for a spin, Fara thinks he's showing off to her, but then he flies the ship over the horizon and doesn't return.
  • Desslar showing James what he came to pick up for Pepper: a few floppy discs with Vixy's name on it. With her last name scribbled out and changed for McCloud to make the signs clear to the viewers.
  Desslar: I didn't think Pepper would send you.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Wolf rounds on Fox for making a scene at the Sargasso lounge.
• You Owe Me: Pepper brings up how he protected James from "what happened on Titania" to say James owes him a favor.

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"Whatever happens next… it's going to be your fault."