Wolf O'Donnell

Template:Star Wolf member infobox

“You're good, but I'm better!”

—Wolf O´Donnell

Wolf O'Donnell is the leader of Star Wolf and rival of Fox McCloud. In parallel to Fox and his team, Wolf is also known to go by the name of Star Wolf.

He was initially hired by Andross during the Lylat Wars to take down the Star Fox team but ultimately failed. During the years between the end of the war and the beginning of the Aparoid Invasion he hid in an illegal hideout called the Sargasso Space Zone, recruiting various criminals from all corners of the Lylat System. His motives changed when the aparoids invaded Corneria as he rescued Fox and aided Star Fox in their retaliation.

After the defeat of the aparoid queen and the ultimate destruction of the aparoid homeworld, Wolf returned to his old ways and became a wanted fugitive by the Cornerian Army, placing a heavy bounty on his team's head, with his own being the highest. It was also revealed during the Anglar Blitz that Wolf felt a grudging respect towards Fox.

Biography

Early Life

Wolf O'Donnell used to be the leader of a gang of space pirates. Before the Lylat Wars, Team Star Fox and Star Wolf shared a long and bitter history with one another, despite mutual respect. It was believed that Wolf had somehow been involved in the apparent death of James McCloud, who was Fox’s father. When Andross offered him money to lead a mercenary team against Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team, he jumped to the chance to see Fox fail. He teamed up with Pigma Dengar and Andross' nephew, Andrew Oikonny, and found the mysterious Leon Powalski in a rough bar on Venom. Wolf then sought to destroy Star Fox and protect Andross, so that he may be feared throughout the galaxy. When Wolf's team was hired by Andross to take down Star Fox, Wolf wanted nothing more than to fulfill these orders and kill Fox McCloud.

Lylat Wars

During the bomb incident on the planet Fichina, Wolf was ordered by Andross to take down any form of rebellion by any means necessary – including the presence of Star Fox. Fox McCloud and his team arrived not too long after receiving orders from General Pepper to take care of the situation, disposing of Andross's forces without delay. Before being able to diffuse the bomb, Wolf and his team approached from the planet’s skies to defend the base in which the bomb had been planted. A long dogfight ensued to create a diversion from Fox in accomplishing his mission. Star Wolf either failed or won depending on if the player shot down all the members, leading Wolf to seek revenge against Star Fox for his own personal reasons or laughing victoriously and shouting, "Looks like we win today, Star Fox!" as he and his team flew off into space and got payed a huge sum of money from Andross.

If Star Wolf was victorious or the previous encounter was skipped, the remaining Star Wolf members will be ordered to defend the satellite base Bolse should Fox reach its destination, but failed again in another dogfight, this time suffering great injuries. Fox can opt to shoot down Star Wolf or simply go for the enemy core and ignore Star Wolf.

Star Wolf appeared to have severe injuries after the battle. Wolf's injuries were relatively minor, simply necessitating a few bandages. With one last chance, he was gifted with the Wolfen II along with his other teammates to defend Venom from the Star Fox team’s advancement into Andross's base. Wolf’s ship and the rest of his teammate's ships were destroyed and sabotaged in a final fight with Fox and his friends. He had been defeated, thus failing Andross in his mission to destroy the Star Fox team.

Wolf then went to hiding in the Sargasso Space Zone during the events of Star Fox Adventures.

Aparoid Invasion

Wolf in Assault — Wolf, as he appears in *Star Fox: Assault*.

Years after the death of Andross, Wolf’s hideout, known as the Sargasso Space Zone, was infiltrated by the Star Fox team in their search for Pigma Dengar. The hideout was inhabited mostly by criminals, bounty hunters, and former members or traitors of Andross's army. In addition, he had earlier kicked Pigma out of his team for his greedy and distrustful nature, as well as ordered his soldiers to shoot Pigma on sight should he dare come close to his hideout.

The invasion of the aparoids ruined Wolf’s plans in taking down Fox by forcing him to put his personal vendetta aside and teaming with his nemesis in order to survive. When the aparoids ambushed Fox on top of the Persimmon’s Building in Corneria City, Wolf rescued him, but denied doing so by claiming Fox jumped onto his ship’s wing at the right time. Fox did jump, but to escape danger. Admitting later that he did save Fox, he proclaimed that the real reason he did so was so that he could finish him off himself later. Wolf also advised Fox after a battle against an infected General Pepper that, should the time come where he has to come to a tough decision, quote, "Let me give you one piece of advice. Don't hesitate, when the time comes, just act."

Wolf and the other members of Star Wolf later arrived to aid the Star Fox team in eliminating the missile threat poised against the Beltino Orbital Gate, thus ensuring that Beltino bought enough time to create the aparoid vaccine. They later followed Star Fox to the aparoid homeworld secretly, only making their presence known as the surviving members of Star Fox travelled down the planetary tunnels.

In the final battle against the aparoid queen, Wolf and his team sacrificed themselves as a distraction towards several aparoids for a long enough time for Fox to stop the invasion for good. His earlier advice also proved to be a great turning point for Fox, as he acted upon that advice to succeed in the mission when they were plagued with telepathic thoughts of the aparoid queen composing of Pigma, Pepper, Peppy, ROB 64 and even James McCloud. After the aparoid queen and her bretheren's defeat, Fox tells his team that he thinks Star Wolf probably survived as well.

Anglar Blitz

Star Wolf disappeared after the destruction of the aparoid homeworld, leading it presumed that they had been killed. During the Anglar Blitz, his team was revealed to have survived the incident and helped the Star Fox team. Wolf showed a grudging respect towards Fox and even expressed guilt after cheating Star Fox out of victory in one final mission. Despite this, he maintained his rivalry with both Fox and his team, however remaining neutral during their fight against the Anglar Empire.

When the Anglar Emperor was defeated, Wolf and his team returned to the site of their rival’s victory. Wolf angrily scolded Fox for stealing his prey, claiming that his chances of clearing the bounty on his head had been spoiled. Fox then revealed that he intended to take the bounty off himself after much pleading from Krystal.

In one storyline, Fox seeks out Wolf's piloting skills and intends to ally with him against the Anglars. Wolf agrees but only on monetary conditions and makes it clear to Fox that "We're not friends, and we never will be". ROB 64 is unsure about the chances of Wolf's total loyalty, while Falco is infuriated at the thought of siding with him. Fox, Falco and Wolf eventually cooperate and defeat the Solar Satellite, whilst gaining the terraforming device created by Andross. Wolf later takes the device and make off with it for his own in attempts to clear the bounty off his team.

But in one similar ending, Star Wolf assaulted and defeated the Anglar forces and the Emperor himself, leaving Star Fox in the dust. People all over Lylat talked about Wolf and his courageous crew and the Cornerian Army threw a huge celebration for the team. Then General Peppy rewarded them by taking the bounties off Star Wolf's heads and even paying them a bit for destroying the Anglars. This points to the idea that Star Wolf may have wanted to instead do the thing that would give them fame, not money.

In the games

Star Fox 64/3D

In Star Fox 64 and the 3DS release, Wolf appears with the rest of his team by default on Fichina and Venom II, and may be encountered at Bolse. Wolf himself will always target Fox until he or Fox is shot down.

Strategy Guide descriptions

“Wolf, the leader of the mercenary Star Wolf team, would like nothing more than to see Fox McCloud fail.”

—Official Nintendo Power Player's Guide, pg 9

“This is the final showdown between you and your longtime rival. If not for Pigma's influence, you may never have become enemies. Who knows? In another time, another place, you might have called him friend…”

—Official Nintendo Power Player's Guide, pg 111

Star Fox: Assault

Wolf is playable in Star Fox: Assault's multiplayer, and is unlocked by completing the game earning an Ally medal on every mission, without letting any of Fox's teammates be taken out. Wolf has the best statistic average of all characters, with greater than or equal stats to Falco in Speed and Arwing Skill and more health than Slippy.

Multiplayer Stats

“A scoundrel well-known throughout the Lylat system as the leader of the ruffian gang Star Wolf. He's crossed paths and laser fire with Fox on numerous occasions; each considers the other his eternal rival.”

—Instruction booklet description

Health★★★★★

Speed ★★★★★

Jump ★★★

Arwing (Wolfen) Skill ★★★★★

Landmaster Skill ★★

Pilot Skill ★★★

Website bio

Wanted: Wolf O'Donnell

Species: Canis

Team Star Wolf: Leader

Leader of Star Wolf. O'Donnell is wanted for larceny and treason. He is Fox McCloud's arch-nemesis. O'Donnell has made it his mission to destroy Team Star Fox.

Star Fox Command

Wolf is both an antagonist a playable character in certain missions in Star Fox Command, piloting his customised Red Fang Wolfen.

In the Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Wolf makes a minor cameo in Super Smash Bros. Melee in the introduction sequence, where he is briefly shown fighting Fox from his Wolfen. Although he himself is absent as a trophy, his ship appears and mentions him in its trophy section.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Wolf makes his first playable appearance in a Super Smash Bros. game in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. To unlock Wolf, the player must complete any of the following three tasks:

Complete the Boss Battles mode with Fox or Falco, and then defeat Wolf in a challenger match.
Participate in 450 brawls, and then defeat Wolf in a challenger match.
Have Wolf join your party in the Subspace Emissary.

Wolf is a middle-heavyweight; much heavier than Fox and Falco, but falls at the same rate as Fox. His special moves are similar in ability to Fox's and Falco's, but they still differ greatly. Wolf is a mid-sized target, which, considering his weight, is put to his favor.

Palette Swaps

Special Moves

Standard- Blaster: Much unlike Fox's and Falco's, Wolf's blaster has a lower rate of fire, its shots are a lot slower and have limited range, but can cause more damage. It also features a bayonet that can cause extra damage at close range when he whips it out.

Side- Wolf Flash: Again, it is not like the latter two characters. Wolf will travel in a diagonal direction and it won't go so far. If Wolf collides with another character at the very apex of the launch, said character will take heavy damage and suffer a meteor strike (plummeting downwards).

Up- Fire Wolf: For this attack, Wolf will launch himself in the desired direction. Anyone caught in the attack will be stuck in a combo until the attack is finished. Also,"Fire Wolf" is considered to be a misnamer, because the attack has no flame and is a kick instead of traveling headfirst, although he does "fire" himself into the air. It has less startup lag than Foxand Falco's

Down- Reflector: Similar in ability to Fox's and Falco's reflectors, Wolf's reflector protects Wolf in front and behind, but not above, or, should he be in the air, below him. It doesn't help him in his recovery unlike the other two. Much unlike Fox's and Falco's, Wolf's is magenta and instead of being hexagonal, it takes the elliptical shape of an eye, and waves of energy appear to give off from the device on his back,. It also gives him invincibility frames at the very start of the move.

Final Smash- Landmaster: Wolf will jump into the air, saying "We're gonna have fun with this thing!" and then comes down in a Landmaster called the Wolfen Landmaster. According to his Final Smash trophy, Wolf analyzed Fox's Landmaster and built his own improved version, featuring a Red and Black color scheme, similar to the color of his Wolfen. It outmatches Fox's and Falco's in all categories except for traction and fuel supply. Because of the fuel shortage, Wolf can only remain in the Landmaster for 12 seconds (unlike Fox and Falco who can remain in their respective vehicles for 18 seconds). CPU-controlled usually drive the Landmaster off-screen.

Role in Subspace Emissary

Wolf does not play a major role, or influence the story of the Subspace Emissary, and is not even seen interacting with any other characters, but may join the player's party after Tabuu has been defeated. To encounter Wolf, the player must enter a particular Red Door in The Ruins stage, which will take them to Lylat Cruise after a brief cut-scene. In the cut-scene, Wolf is seen flying his Wolfen from Venom, jumping out, and landing on the cruise ship. Wolf strikes a pose, then rushes forward to attack. Although he is the only character present in the cut-scene, he appears to stare at his challenger. The player must then defeat him in a one-life stock battle, and if they win the match, Wolf joins the party. This will also unlock him if he has not yet been unlocked.

Trophy Description

Name	How to Unlock	Picture	Description
Wolf	Clear Classic Mode as Wolf		A pilot whose real name is Wolf O'Donnell. He leads a group of mercenaries called Star Wolf. He's crossed paths with Fox many times, and each acknowledges the other as a competent rival. Wolf's constant interference with Fox is a result of Wolf's history with Fox's dad, James. Wolf's long history of criminal enterprise as resulted in a large bounty on his head. Star Fox 64 / Lylat Wars (N64) Star Fox Assault (GCN)

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U

Although Wolf himself did not return as a playable character, he makes an appearance as a trophy. His pose is taken from Assault and Command instead of Star Fox 64 3D because no character artwork of Wolf in Star Fox 64 was ever released. Interestingly, his trophy states that he served Andross who was already antagonising the Lylat system before his exile.

Trophy descriptions

Name	How to Unlock	Picture	Description
Wolf O'Donnell	TBA	Wolf's trophy.	“Wolf used to fight in Andross's army, tangling with Star Fox in battle after battle. After Andross's exile, he went his own way and formed a mercenary team called Star Wolf. He and his eternal rival, Fox, have even fought on the same side from team to time...but inevitably, they always meet again as enemies.” —NA release “Wolf used to fight in Andross's army, where he tangled with Star Fox in many a dogfight. After Andross's exile, he went his own way and formed a mercenary team called Star Wolf. He and his eternal rival Fox have even fought on the same side from time to time...but inevitably, they always meet again as enemies.” —PAL release

Other Appearances

Star Fox 2

WolfSF2 — Wolf, as he was supposed to appear in *Star Fox 2*. Notice his scar is on his right eye while his weak eye in later released games is always shown to be on his left.

Wolf was originally going to make his debut in the unreleased Star Fox 2. He would be a stronger version of the other Star Wolf members and would appear before you can head to Andross's base. Unlike the other members of the team, Wolf would flee when he has sustained enough injuries, possibly leaving room for an undeveloped sequel. However, the game was canceled and the series was rebooted for the Nintendo 64 with Star Fox 64, in which he would make his first official appearance as a rival to Fox. Wolf is the only member of the "Wolf Team" that didn't die, for he will retreat after beaten on the battlefield much to Andross's chagrin, making him the last surviving member of Star Wolf.

Star Fox 64 manga

Wolf appears in the Star Fox 64 manga with the rest of Star Wolf. His role is much smaller compared to Pigma and Andrew. Star Wolf first appear when they ambush the Star Fox team at the Asteroid Belt, but piloting superiority beats Wolf's team back with Fox hot on Pigma's tail for his treason towards his old team. Wolf intervenes the chase to let Pigma escape, and threatens to send Fox to see his father, to which Fox concludes the rumours surrounding Wolf's involvement with the mystery over James McCloud's fate.

Pigma and Andrew later make another attempt to take down Star Fox over Solar in revenge for their humiliation towards Andross. But they acted with Wolf's approval or knowledge, infuriating him, to which he then expells them from the team for disobediance and open fires on them. Wolf explains that Fox is his rival and that their grudge has not yet been satisfied. This act of saving Fox's life to continue their conflict predates the famous event that occured years later in Star Fox: Assualt.

Appearance

Wolf is a gray wolf of the Canidae family (the same family as his rival Fox). He has purple eyes with black outlines around them, and a white line of fur cut in a brutal mohawk style, rivaling Fox's military crew-cut. He has tall pointed ears and a set of sharp teeth, usually shown when he is smiling or snarling. He also has a bushy tail with a split at the tip. He appears to be tall and remarkably muscular, making him physically superior to Fox, as well as implementing the significant rift between the two species.

Wolf's attire changes slightly in the Star Fox games. In Star Fox 64, he appears to be wearing a brown trench coat and red scarf similar to Fox's. Also, he seems to have many bandages during the fight on Venom. During this time, he appears to sport a stereotypical black eye patch, although it is unknown whether he wears it because of a prior injury blinding him in his eye, if he only wore it for show, or if he wore it as a means to aid him in aerial combat by dimming his eyesight enough to read the controls of the Wolfen. In both Assault and Command, his clothes change radically. He wears a blue, layered laser-proof vest over a full black suit which bears purple markings, with the addition of both black gauntlets, boots and knee pads, and a metal belt. Two recognizable traits are his massive spiked shoulder pads and his new mechanical left eyewear with blue lens. His appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl changes once more, now with his vest unzipped and exposing a black muscle shirt underneath. He now wears black and purple fingerless gloves that show off his claws, as well as now-spiked knee pads. He also wears dark-blue and purple combat boots, a collar, a locket, a belt with a wolf-shaped buckle, a chain, and a strap-on holster. Wolf also appears to be wearing a badge on his waistcoat resembling a planet; The closest match to its appearance is that of Corneria.

Personality

In his first appearance, Wolf was shown to have a calm and even polite personality (as shown saying lines when you damage him during the Venom dogfight like "You're good, but I'm better.") but in the more recent games, Wolf has become a more bitter, ruthless character. Wolf is depicted as a merciless and cunning foe with a more villainous personality during the events of the Lylat Wars, but since the beginning of the Aparoid Invasion, appears to be less villainous. He is brutal, ruthless, stubborn, and has a rebellious distaste for any kind of authority, but is very charismatic in his own way and Fox's equal in flying skill. His attitude has risen to the recognizable traits of an anti-hero, making him unwilling to aid anyone for the sake of heroism or justice. Being a mercenary and an outlaw, his interests revolve mainly around his Team as well as his pay. He appears to have a grudging respect for Fox McCloud, but is quick to offer his usual glare of rivalry for him - though he has made it clear he wants to one day kill Fox himself. Wolf has a barely noticeable soft-spot for those he competes with, his main rival being Fox and the Star Fox team. He does have some reserves, however. For one, he does not tolerate betrayal and/or greed lightly, as evidenced by his firing Pigma from Star Wolf due to his greed and overall untrustworthy nature, as well as his ordering his men to drive out Pigma if he ever came near his territory. Similarly, in one scenario of the Anglar Blitz, he was shown having some guilt over betraying Star Fox the way he did, even though he harbored no warm feelings for his rival.

Out of the entire cast of pilots in the Star Fox Franchise, Wolf maintains the status of being the most physically superior. In games following Star Fox 64, Wolf is depicted to be quite muscular and taller than Fox or Falco.

Relationships

Fox McCloud and Team Star Fox

While Wolf's relation with Falco and Slippy is generally hostile, Fox and Wolf's "relationship" is probably Wolf's most important one; he constantly seeks to become better than Fox. Every time the two teams get into a dogfight, Wolf instantly goes to fight Fox. Despite their bitter rivalry, Wolf is not above helping Fox against a common foe under the quote "And if anyone's gonna tan your hide it's gonna be me!", showing that the two do have a respect for each other. One sign of respect is hinted in Assault during the Aparoid Invasion, while wing riding on the Wolfen. Wolf might say to Fox; "You got some skills, pal." as a sign of respect, but only if your health bar is close to or is still full. The strategy guide also implies that the primary reason for Wolf's rivalry with Fox was because of Pigma's influence. Although non-canon, a bonus comm-transmission from Wolf and the other Star Fox team members (specifically near the Corneria portion of the level), should the player play as Fox in the Lylat Cruise stage, will imply that the reason why Wolf often fights the Star Fox team is to satiate his inner desires for conflict, and claims that Star Fox and Star Wolf are destined to fight.

James McCloud

During his youth, he also harbored an intense rivalry with Fox's father, James McCloud. It is also implied in the comics as well as Wolf's line "You'll be seeing your dad soon, Fox!" that Wolf had some involvement in James's death. It is quite possible that he maintained a master and pupil relationship with James when he was a young man. He also mentioned if he successfully shoots down Fox in Assault that "[Fox] ain't your father, after all...", implying he had a large amount of respect for James McCloud's dogfighting abilities. It is implied through the Super Smash Bros. series that Wolf's rivalry with Team Star Fox started out with James from having tangled in battle after battle with McCloud during the time he served Andross's pre-exile antagonism towards Corneria.

Star Wolf

Wolf seems to care for his teammates as he doesn't let just anyone join his team. Any signs of selfishness and such, and Wolf kicks them out of the team in order to keep the teamwork in his team. Leon Powalski seems to be a long term friend of his, despite Leon's sadistic nature. He is, however, not above yelling at his teammates when they're bickering with each other or Star Fox members (the latter in the event that they teamed up). In addition, Krystal appears to be the only member of Star Fox that managed to gain enough of Wolf's respect to let her join the team. Towards the end of Command, she shows joy and relief at his survival. He mockingly calls her "princess", either referring to her lineage, regal attitude, or her tiara. It is unknown whether or not he will remember this relationship in future titles, and the true nature of the relationship remains unknown.

Portrayals

Wolf's dialouge has been performed by the following:

In the English version of Star Fox 64, Wolf spoke with a slightly British accent, which was given by Jock Blaney.
The English versions of Star Fox: Assault, he was given a somewhat gruff American accent, which was given by Grant Goodeve.
His appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl somewhat combines both aspects, his dialogue is performed by Jay Ward, supplying Wolf with a slight Southern accent. Ward's vocals were retained in the Lylat Cruise in the sequel.
Although Ward returned to Star Fox 64 3D, he did not perform Wolf's vocals as it remains faithful to the original, this time it was done by Jaz Adams.

Gallery

Trivia

Wolf's statement "Can't Let You Do That, Star Fox." has become an Internet phenomenon over time. Websites such as Halolz post images of Wolf photoshopped into other images.
- Similarly, thanks to The Phantom Pain unveiling a one-eyed wolf dog named D.D. as a potential companion in TGS 2014, the internet meme for Wolf's famous statement was also included in an image of D.D.^[1]
In Assault, Wolf's preferred weapon is the Machine Gun; his victory pose consists of him unleashing two of them, then firing. His Assault artwork also depicts him with the item.
Though Wolf's "Can't let you do that, Star Fox," comes from Star Fox 64, most representations show him with his Assault artwork.
In Star Fox 64, Wolf is the only AI to respond to maneuvers that the Arwing does. In example, if Wolf is chasing the player, and the player somersaults behind him, he may say "What the heck?!".
The true nature of Wolf's "rivalry" with James McCloud remains one of the Star Fox series' biggest mysteries. Wolf's age during the events in Star Fox 64 was stated as 19 in the 1997 special issue of Nintendo Power, indicating that he must've been a young man when he knew James.
Grant Goodeve, who voiced Wolf in Star Fox: Assault, and Rick May, who voiced Andross in Star Fox 64, both voice a character (the Engineer and Soldier classes, respectively) in the Valve game Team Fortress 2.
- Furthering this coincidence, the June 2014 TF2 short Expiration Date had both characters' actors replaced by Nolan North
In Wolf's Assault concept artwork, Wolf's left side is shown without his mechanical eyepatch, implying that either he only wears his eyepatch for show, and doesn't actually need the eyepatch due to a bad eye, or his use of the eyepatch was as a means to dim the sight of one of his eyes so he could observe flight while at the same time retain enough eyesight to read the instruments of his Wolfen, which is similar to what real-life pilots did in the early 20th Century.
In the versus mode of Star Fox: Assault, if a player attempts to zoom the camera into Wolf's face, his right eye is visible behind of the eyepatch, which is another possibility of Wolf using a Scouter or HMD.

References

NINTENDO POWER Star Fox 64: Official Nintendo Player's Guide. Redmond, WA, Nintendo of America. 1997.
Star Fox Assault; Instruction Booklet
http://starfox64.baldninja.com/sf64cast.htm