| “ | Voodoo One, Viper's on station. Your journey ends here, Pilot. The skies belong to me. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
— Viper
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” |
Viper was a Pilot member of the Apex Predators and a supporting antagonist in Titanfall 2. He carried himself with the demeanor and cadence of a fighter pilot, and his signature piece of kit was a heavily modified Northstar Titan chassis that permits extended flight, the spoils of a long and successful career as a mercenary.[1] During the Battle of Typhon, Viper would meet his end in the skies above Typhon as the result of a pitched and vicious duel with rookie Militia Pilot Jack Cooper and his Vanguard Titan, BT-7274. He is survived by his daughter, Kairi "Valkyrie" Imahara, a Legend in the Apex Games.
Biography[]
Battle of Typhon[]
Viper's only known role in the Battle of Typhon would be protecting and escorting the Ark to the IMC airfield housing the transport vessel IMS Draconis. He would later be seen, along with Slone, in the hangar of the ship prior to its emergency takeoff.[2]
Afterwards, Viper would fly into the skies in his Titan, featuring numerous upgrades that significantly improved his flight time and missile tracking. He would engage in a fierce battle with squadrons of Militia Crows, showcasing his superior skills in aerial combat. Ultimately, he would unleash a barrage of missiles at the Widow, which unfortunately resulted in Jack Cooper and BT-7274 plummeting from the sky and landing on Barker's dropship.[3]
Viper's callsign card.
Despite facing fierce opposition from the Militia's aerial troops, Viper pressed on to IMS Malta to prevent Jack and BT from reaching the Draconis. The two pilots engaged in an intense fight on the outer hull of the battleship, where Jack emerged victorious, inflicting severe damage to Viper's Titan. Believing Viper to be dead, they continued their mission to board the Draconis. However, Viper unexpectedly surfaced, pushing them off the ship and onto the hull of the Draconis, leading to a frenzied brawl. Viper managed to tackle BT, simultaneously activating his thrusters to slam BT into the ground. During this clash, Viper slammed off BT's left arm, but the Vanguard responded by shooting off Viper's hatch. Exposed, Viper was shot out of his cockpit by Cooper, causing his Titan to unleash a series of missiles that slammed into the Draconis, sending it into a downward spiral. Viper was presumed dead in the intense chaos of the crashing vessel.[3]
Trivia[]
- Upon defeating Viper, the achievement Defanged is awarded.
- Viper's helmet is similar to that of a Pulse Blade Pilot.
- There was originally a second Ronin Titan involved in this hectic exchange as seen in the E3 2016 Titanfall 2 Campaign trailer. Instead of BT tackling Viper after recovering from the fall, he would tackle a Ronin Titan, although the scene changes before anything else was revealed. What became of this Ronin is currently unknown. It is possible this Ronin was simply a stand-in for Viper, as to not spoil the boss fight in a trailer.
- Given the fact that the Ronin is wielding a Plasma Railgun, it being a stand-in is the most likely case.
- Viper shares several traits with Char Aznable of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise.
- Viper's face is kept hidden behind a white pilot helmet much like how Char hid his face using a white mask and helmet during the events of the original TV series.
- Viper's pilot suit uses the same color palette as Char's pilot suit from the film Char's Counterattack, dark yellow with black accents.
- Both pilot red colored units that are tuned to focus on speed and maneuverability above all else.
- In terms of skill, both are shown to be ace pilots capable destroying several enemy ships single-handedly in a single engagement.
- Several of Viper's lines are influenced from films such as Top Gun and Aliens.
- His line "Viper's got you in the pipe, 5x5" is similar to a line said by Corporal Colette Ferro in the film Aliens, as the UD-4L Cheyenne dropship enters the atmosphere of the planet LV-426.
- His mention of 'Voodoo one' is a reference to Top Gun, as is his call-sign. In Top Gun the character Viper is played by Tom Skerrit, who also appeared in Alien. Viper also physically resembles Skeritt.
- Viper also makes reference to The Matrix by saying "Dodge this!"
- His helmet was used for the original female Pulse Blade model during the tech test.
- Viper's custom Northstar was the only one of it's kind which could fly for extended periods of time, such as an aircraft would, due to custom and expensive modifications implemented by Viper personally.[1] It is possible that the Viper Thrusters are derived from his call-sign (or vice versa).
- Viper's quote "You need to move a little faster than that son. Speed is Life." is most likely a reference to an old aviator's saying: "Airspeed is life, altitude is life insurance."
- In an image tweeted by Apex Legends , what appears to be Viper's custom Northstar-class titan can be seen in Rampart's mod shop, alongside various screens displaying blueprints for various components of the titan such as the missile racks and thrusters.
- Viper's daughter - Kairi - has salvaged the intact flight core from Viper’s Northstar with the help of Rampart and built a new jetpack for use in the Apex Games.
- Viper bears a resemblance to Mike Metcalf from Top Gun, even sharing the same callsign, "Viper".
- In Apex Legends, Valkyrie possesses an Heirloom melee weapon known as the Suzaku exclusive to her. When equipping it, there's a chance that Valkyrie will pull out Viper's damaged helmet. Additionally, there's also a rare chance that she will strike with the helmet as opposed to the spear.
- Valkyrie also has a rare animation with her Suzaku where she will pull out an Apex Card, given to her by Kuben Blisk as an invitation to the Apex Games, then fling it into the air, blowing it away.
Quotes[]
Viper's dialogue is primarily in air pilot speak which consists of aviation terminology and acronyms.
- "I've got good tone." ("Good tone" in this instance means locking on with missiles.)
- “Voodoo One, Viper’s on station. Your journey ends here, Pilot - the skies belong to me. Nowhere to run... Nowhere to hide.”
- "Tally, engaging Bandit." - ("Tally" refers to sighting a target while "Bandit" is a designation for confirmed hostile aircraft.)
- "Viper One - Taking cover. Raz Four visual - point-zero-nine, two-three. Move in." - ("Raz Four" likely refers to an ally's designation while the rest of the quote is giving the ally maneuvering instructions. The "Four" in the name could refer to a group of four units or this being the fourth in the Raz group.)
- “Viper One is hit, but still in the fight.”
- “You hear that ringing in your ear, son?”
- "Regrouping. Prime Three - check right. Press forward!" - (“Prime Three” is likely another ally designation, either a group of three or the third in the group.)
- “Bandit’s hit. Moving in for the kill.”
- "I'm a dot. Bandit at angel's twenty-eight." - ("Dot" meaning he's far away from the target while an "angel" is a measurement in altitude that is 1,000 feet above MSL (mean sea level). In layman's terms it roughly translates to a hostile aircraft is 28,000 feet above sea level.)
- "Target hit. Fox eight." - ("Fox" with a number added to the end is gravity used to describe the primary type of sensors the launched munitions possess. In real world terms, Fox missile designations only go up to Fox 3.)
- “You hitched your last ride, son. This is your stop.”
- "Good tone, good tone, Fox 10." - ("Good tone" refers to the lock-on tone for his missiles. "Fox 10" is a missile type of unknown armament.)
- “Dodge this.” (A reference from the movie The Matrix.)
- “You need to move a little faster than that, son, speed is life.”
- “Viper One extending to re-engage.”
- “Taking fire. Zero-nine-zero for twenty. It’s getting a little hot in here.”
- “Vipe One lost control. I’m losing control! Going down! Mayday! Mayday! Going down!”
- “I’ve lost the hatch. Need cover! Need cover!”
- "When you get to hell, tell them Viper sent you."
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Steve Fukuda on Reddit - "No, that was just Viper's thing. Very rare parts, very expensive to modify a Northstar to fly like that. But Viper, being a long time successful mercenary (until he met Jack and BT) could afford the parts and labor."
- ↑ Titanfall 2 mission - Trial By Fire
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Titanfall 2 mission - The Ark
 Members of the Apex Predators
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|---|
| Kuben Blisk • Slone† • Viper† • Richter† • Ash • Kane†
† Deceased |