#273: Noctroopers

    Dreamworks Animation LLC is a quandry. Seriously, I watched Bee Movie for the first time in gosh knows how long on Friday night, and I'm still reeling. One minute they're hitting home runs, and the next they're making a movie where they honest-to-goodness name a character Bee Larry King. BEE LARRY KING, DANGIT. This is the type of stuff that drives a man to the brink. But *ahem* on a less maddening note, it's time for some good ol' fashioned new character(s)! I proudly present, the Noctroopers! Of the many common comic book archetypes, the intergalactic police corps is one of my personal favorites. Whether they be identified by their sheeny green rings or gold helmets, they tend to be one of the coolest parts of any given universe--and with this blog, that's no different. Toss that trope in the blender with another recognizable comic staple, dressing like a bat to scare the common riff raff into submission, and you get the JC-Verse's own brand of cosmic coppers: the Noctrooper Corps! Serving the wartime government of Kreken-V, an industrialized gas planet in the Bathr system, these officers enforce local law while the formal Krekenese army are fighting abroad. With trademark helmets and handy-dandy Model-O7 energy-pistols, Noctroopers work to hold together the chaotic homefront of Kreken-V's empire, shutting down riots, investigating fishy spacecraft, and otherwise keeping things under control. They aren't exactly the long-eared luminaries that they're made out to be in everybody's eyes, but that's a story for another post. (Full disclosure, I've been on a bit of a Star Wars kick as of late, so that's the primary reason the character before you exists. That cape is basically Lando's. I hang my head in partial shame. Don't sue me.)