General Phoenix

For the weapon named Phoenix, see Phoenix (weapon).

General Phoenix is the main antagonist of Contra: Rogue Corps. He was a high rank member of the military, who fired the Vortex Cannon against advice of its creators and without the President's consent, and which presumably brought the rise of the Damned City. He assassinated the President afterward and blamed Kaiser and Ms. Harakiri for the incident, while attempting to eliminate Dr. Steiner via "a lab accident". He was later revealed to be the real CEO of SwanLabs.

He was voiced by Daniel J. Edwards.

History[]

General Phoenix was a high-ranking member of the military who was present at the laboratory where the Vortex Cannon was created sometime at the end of the Alien Wars. Against the advice of scientists Dr. Kurt Steiner and Dr. Claude Banks, the lead scientists behind the creation of the Vortex Cannon, he impulsively fired this experimental weapon, wiping out one of the remaining alien strongholds on Earth. The President soon arrived to the lab, reprimanding the General for this act without permission.

The President's aides, Max Doyle (a.k.a. "Kaiser") and Sweets Manson (a.k.a. "Ms. Harakiri") of the Rogue Corps elite task force, secured the perimeter so the President could prepare to make a victory speech to the world outside the Vortex Cannon's lab. However, during the speech, the Damned City suddenly started arising from the ground and the President held Phoenix responsible for this. Fearing the consequences and before the news could spread, Phoenix assassinated the President using Ms. Harakiri's katana. Seeing this, Kaiser tried to stop Phoenix and nearly subdued him. However, taking advantage of the confusion caused by Harakiri's alien episode, who was about to be killed by the presidential security units, Kaiser had to let Phoenix go to save his colleague. Phoenix then blamed Kaiser and his team for the murder. Seeing themselves surrounded, the Rogue Corps managed to escape via their carrier, the Guillotine.

Right after this incident, Phoenix had doctors Banks and Steiner apprehended for being witnesses. He then ordered his soldiers to lock the two scientists in the laboratory and then blow the building up, so it looked like their deaths had been an accident. However, both scientists managed to escape, each by their own means.

It seems likely that he was inadvertently responsible for bringing not only the Damned City, but also the Fiends into existence. Despite all this, he seemed to care little of the casualties the war left behind, as long as he got the job done his way. By using Dr. Banks, he would have been able to mass-produce the serum to allow his soldiers to roam the Damned City, allowing him to control the city rather than destroy it. Phoenix believed that fear was a necessity in maintaining peace and prosperity for everyone.

Sometime later, he finally arrived at the Damned City while coming across the Rogue Corps squadron. Though at one point he seemed to have the upper hand against the team, he was tricked into making a statement confessing his murder of the President, which the Rogue Corps were able to record for future reference. He and his sent out Mega-Fiend were ultimately defeated, and his confession was exposed to the public, which not only resulted in the apprehension of his soldiers but with the pardon of the Rogue Corps. The ending also reveals that the General survived, with half his body mutated into a fiend. He grabs hold of the device once more, leaving the player to only wonder what his fate leads to.

Quotes[]

"You two geniuses can go back to your labs and invent some balls." - After firing the Vortex Cannon
"I believe the words you're looking for are "Thank you."" - Speaking to the President for firing the Vortex Cannon
"Without fear of the Damned City, our unified Earth will devolve back into the squabbling mess it used to be. We need it to stay just like it is to maintain peace and prosperity for everyone!" - Revealing his opinions about keeping the Damned City intact.

Notes[]

As commented by Kaiser, General Phoenix appears to be somewhat impulsive with powerful weaponry in his presence. Twice in the game, he immediately unleashes powerful technology he doesn't fully understand, only caring about its power level enough for him to unleash it. He immediately fires the Vortex Cannon disregarding the scientist's warnings, then he repeats the same issue by immediately attaching the Rogue Corps's device onto the Mega-Fiend without understanding any consequences this would have.
General Phoenix can be seen as the parallel to Hard Corps's own Colonel Bahamut. Both were important soldiers of war who were held in high regard until a self-made decision led them to betray the government. Phoenix however, didn't seem to completely betray his country, rather he felt the need to control and shape it to how he saw fit by using the Damned City to insert fear into society, believing this to solve the problems of Earth. Both Bahamut (in one instance) and Phoenix also end up fusing with a powerful creature. Coincidentally, both are named after a mythical creature and end up firing a massive cannon. Bahamut also appears to share Phoenix's impulsiveness for powerful weapons, as noted on at least one occasion: Bahamut tries to control the Alien Cell without Dr. Mandrake's aid, which ultimately backfires and consumes his base. Phoenix's half-mutated form bears a resemblance to Bahamut's own Power Glove Style.

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

Artworks[]

Trivia[]

Coincidentally, General Phoenix lives up to his name as "Phoenix" by surviving multiple supposed deaths:
- Although the Rogue Corps defeat him in Final Battle, he manages to return stronger than ever for a final encounter.
- Even though he was seen to be crushed by the closing Dimensional Gate, he somehow manages to survive this and reappear within the Damned City's underground chambers, "reborn" as his human self once more, albeit still partially fused with his Mega-Fiend.
Although full-body artwork of the mutated human General exists, it is never shown in full throughout the entire game. In the V-Logs cutscene, only his head is displayed (aside from his normal human hand).

References[]

↑ Contra: Rogue Corps by Tony Washington at ArtStation.

[1] Contra: Rogue Corps by Tony Washington at ArtStation.

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