- For other uses, see Bill Rizer (disambiguation).
| “ | A warrior by nature. The world's strongest man, born for combat. With the Contra's passionate fighting spirit buried deep in his heart, he battles on. |
„ |
| ~ Contra 3D official profile description |
PFC Bill Rizer (ビル・ライザー Biru Raizā?), code name: Mad Dog, is one of the two main protagonists of the Contra series, along with fellow commando and brother-in-arms, Lance Bean. He was one of the most renowned members of the "Contra" task force, an elite group of soldiers specializing in guerrilla warfare, and one of the greatest soldiers that ever lived.
Both combatants alone were able to repel numerous invasion attempts on Earth by extraterrestrial forces –mainly carried out by the evil Red Falcon army– and came to be known as heroes worldwide after successfully defeating them completely during the Alien Wars.
A series of events eventually made them go their separate ways and at one point even put them fighting against each other.
As part of a well-planned conspiracy, he was framed by the Government's people in power and considered a war criminal. He was sentenced to serve time in cryostasis, although he was called upon to fight once more in a conflict that arose some years later.
Unbeknownst to him, clones of him were produced, most likely while he was serving time in cryogenic prison.
History
Red Falcon crisis
In 2633 A.D., Bill was sent alongside fellow combatant Lance Bean to the Galuga Archipelago with orders to thwart a series of hostile activities that had risen on the island. Fighting together and without any offensive external support, the two soldiers alone discovered that the Galugan army had actually been infected by unknown beings that came from outer space, branding themselves as the "Red Falcon Army". The conflict for all matter gave the impression of being the first step of a worldwide invasion plan. Both men were able to break through all their lines of defense, little by little gaining terrain and fighting them inside their own nest located at the top of the island's mountains, where they came face to face with their leader Emperor Demon Dragon God Java, and overthrew both him and his army. This was only a temporary victory, though, and definitely not the last they were going to see of Red Falcon.
One year later, in 2634 A.D., a conatus of what appeared to be yet another alien invasion attempt was identified in an undisclosed country and Bill and Lance were once again sent to investigate. Once there, they could confirm the same modus operandi they witnessed a year before: the Red Falcon once again taking over the country's military forces –known as the "GX Army"– as a supposed first step to take over the world. This time the conflict was at a much larger scale, with the alien forces deploying some of their stronger units shortly after the first encounters. Bill and Lance emerged victorious once again and destroyed the main leader of Red Falcon, Emperor Demon Gava.
Thwarting Black Viper's threat
Another year later, in 2635 A.D., Bill and Lance, now accompanied by two other "Contra" members, Mad Dog and Scorpion, were sent to an unnamed hostile nation on an isolated South Pacific island that was attempting to use an alien cell to produce military weapons of mass destruction.
The Alien Wars
- Main article: Alien Wars (event)
Defamation and cryostasis prison sentence
At some point after the Alien Wars, in an event not fully covered in any of the games, Bill was held responsible of an incident that involved setting off a malfunctioning hyper-magnetic weapons grid during development that ended up completely devastating 80% of Earth's population, as well as for murdering his fellow brother-in-arms Lance Bean who reportedly tried to stop him. Under these charges, he was given a sentence of 10,000 years in cryostasis prison.
Blood Falcon organization
Bill was temporarily released five years later by orders of the Triumvirate and fought alongside Lucia in order to stop the Blood Falcon organization, led by his ex-partner Lance, who was believed to have been killed by him. Lucia acted as Bill's watchdog during that time, as he was still not clear of the charges set upon him.
Project C
- Main article: Project C
Not much of Rizer's activities are known during this time. It is likely he was still cryogenically frozen throughout all those years when he should have been long dead. His "consciousness" was used to create an artificial intelligence, and a clone of him (or probably an army of them) was made.
Reemergence and death in 4444 A.D.
- Main article: Bill Rizer/Neo Contra
Finally, in 4444 A.D. he battled against the forces of Master Contra. During that time, Rizer operated under the alias of "Mystery G". This is how he chose to identify himself after meeting his clone and Jaguar Yagyu. He was easily able to defeat Plant Contra and was about to finish him, when he decided to test the clone and Jaguar as worthy of the title of "Contra". After fighting the pair, he deemed them better than he expected and teleported away.
When the clone and Jaguar were about to be killed by Master Contra, Mystery G reappeared and blocked his blade with his guns. After the clone and Jaguar were back on their feet, he received a mortal wound from Master Contra's blade. Master Contra then teleported away, and the clone stayed with G. When the clone asked who he really was, Mystery G simply responded: "The same as you. Contra. I was called that..."
Legacy
Rizer's heroic actions in his past missions made him a hero throughout the ages, including lifting up the spirits of his clone, who was able to save the world. At one unknown point in time, he even mentored a recruit by the name of Max Doyle, who looked up to and greatly respected the legend.
Other appearances
Contra: Rogue Corps
The Rogue Corps motion comics recap major events that Bill and Lance experienced while on the Galuga Archipelago and during the Alien Wars. The motion comic also reveals that he once mentored a soldier by the name of Max Doyle, who shows great admiration to his legendary teacher. At the end of the third motion comic, a photo is displayed showing Bill's status as M.I.A, while being connected to a string by a photo of an unseen enemy. This references Bill Rizer's disappearance into cryogenic prison during Contra: Shattered Soldier.
In the actual game, Bill Rizer is referenced a few times, being remembered for his heroic actions of the past. His image is seen throughout numerous flashback scenes (the same ones used in the motion comics).
Bill Rizer appears as a DLC skin over Kaiser within the game itself. The Bill Rizer DLC can be obtained (at least on the Steam version) by purchasing the Rogue Corps Season Pass, which includes a bundle of multiple DLC, including the "Retro Bill" pack. Although Bill Rizer's appearance this way is non-canonical to the story, he has his own set of in-game dialogue voice clips and a unique Finishing Move where he shoves his gun barrel inside a Gold Fiend and pumps it full of bullets. Once the Fiend is high into the air, Bill pulls out a second Rifle to further blast the aerial foe with dual Machine Gun bullets (even if the Machine Gun was not selected as a weapon). As the Fiend explodes, Bill finishes up the Finishing Move by performing the iconic Dual-wielding posture.
Bill Rizer's voice actor in both the game and the Motion Comic are currently unknown.
Official Data
Personal information
- General
- Age: 34 (Contra 3D)
- Height: 188 cm (6′ 2″)
- Weight: 115 kg (254 lb)
Personal descriptions
- Shin Contra/Contra: Hard Spirits - Konami Official Perfect Guide translation
- A battle-hardened hero who, along with his partner Lance Bean, thwarted multiple brutal alien invasions of Earth. However, afterward, he transformed into a mad terrorist. It is said that he killed Lance and caused the military's super-magnetic weapons to go out of control, resulting in a global catastrophe, but the truth of the matter is unclear. He was thereafter imprisoned in a dungeon for serious criminals, but was released through extralegal measures and is set to go to the battlefield as part of a special operations unit against Blood Falcon...
Quotes and sounds
- "I won't forgive those bastards."
- "What is this place?" - Super Contra opening demo
- "It's time...for revenge." - Contra III: The Alien Wars opening demo (text only, no vocals)
- Defeated
- "Come get some!"
- "Let's party!"
- "Lock and load"
- "Locked and loaded!"
- "Take 'em out."
- Defeated
- "It's showtime!" - performing his Finishing Move or Skill
- "I'm gonna kick your ***!" - performing his Finishing Move or Skill
- "Take this ****!" - performing his Finishing Move or Skill
- "Hell yeah!" - when using the "Good!" or "Dance" Emote
- "Let's keep this going." - when using the "Good!" or "Dance" Emote
- "That's it boy!" - when using the "Good!" or "Dance" Emote
- "Are you serious?" - when using the "Sorry.." Emote
- "We still have next time." - when using the "Sorry.." Emote
- "Damn it!" - when using the "Sorry.." Emote
Gallery
Main article: Bill Rizer/Gallery
Trivia
- Rizer's original appearance is based on Austrian-American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, based on his appearance in the film Commando, and later to his interpretation of Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer in the 1987 science fiction guerrilla-themed action film Predator.
- Additionally, the idea of Bill having a clone may have been derived from another film starring Schwarzenegger titled The 6th Day.
- Interestingly, Schwarzenegger would later make a guest appearance as the Terminator in Contra Returns.
- His name is a tribute to actors Bill Paxton and Paul Reiser, who appeared in the 1986 science fiction horror film Aliens, a franchise which the Contra series takes inspiration from.
- In the English instruction booklet for Super C (NES), Bill Rizer is referred to as "Sergeant Bill Ko", in reference to Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko, the main protagonist of the 1955-1959 sitcom The Phil Silvers Show.
- Bill being framed and then sentenced to cryostasis prison, only to be called back a few years later to fight once more before completing his sentence, may be inspired by similar events found in some popular science fiction action films (such as the Alien franchise, where people are often seen put in "hypersleep" to survive very long periods of time without nourishment or aging); specifically, the 1993 film Demolition Man, where the protagonist, John Spartan (played by Sylvester Stallone), is framed for the accidental death of many civilians during an unauthorized assault and is sentenced to serve a lengthy term cryogenically frozen, only to be called upon by the Government once more to stop a psychopathic criminal.
See also
- Bill Bomber
- Bill Rizer (clone)
- Bill Rizer (Returns)
- Bill Rizer (Operation Galuga)
- Jimbo
- Lance Bean
- Lance Gryzor
- Mad Dog
- Master Contra
- Mystery G
References
- ↑ A clone of Bill takes his place in following titles after his supposed death.
- ↑ Bill Rizer was the protagonist in the original Japanese version of Operation C; he appears in all artworks for that game and apparently even in the American cover artwork. However, he was changed to Lance Bean (at least by name) in the American localization. In the "Museum" option of Contra 4, the player character's identity was changed yet again to Mad Dog and/or Scorpion.
- ↑ Bill Rizer and Lance Bean were the protagonists in the original Japanese version of Contra III: The Alien Wars. They were changed to Jimbo and Sully in the American release of the game in order to keep consistency with the lore already established in the West from prior localized games.
External links
- Bill Rizer at the Heroes Wiki
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