Names: Punk, Madman, and Dweeb

Real Names: Rodney Lloyd, James Kent, Donnie Dawkins; not that anyone actually used them

From: Junior Force

Role: Cannon Fodder Amongst Cannon Fodder

Aaaaaah, Punk, Madman, and Dweeb... an integral portion of the Junior Force saga, and always on the receiving end of one red-assed beat-down. With the world of Junior Force being akin to River City Ransom, or any side-scrolling brawler, this trio would represent those guys that popped up at several times to cause trouble, but would always end up taking a severe beating before running away. Think Ultros from FFVI, or Benny and Clyde from River City Ransom. I'd also throw the Turks in from FFVII, but some of those guys were pretty cool.

While these guys weren't based on anyone I knew at the time, I nevertheless believe that everyone went to school with a Punk, Madman, and Dweeb. You could consider Punk to be what amounted to being the brains of the trio, or at least their unofficial leader. He was a man of action, the type that took to bullying underclassmen just because he could, and would bring bags of oregano to school, telling people it was weed. Madman, on the other hand, was the instigator of the group, i.e. that smart-assed kid that you wanted to slap like a 70's pimp every time he opened his mouth. Dweeb, alas, was just that poor unpopular kid that was just happy to have friends, doing what he could to keep them. Even if it meant getting beaten like a Saigon whore, he was loyal to the end.

While I wish I could say that their roles changed during the course of the Junior Force trilogy, sadly it did not. Even with the changing of The Sledgehammers to The Elite between episodes 2 and 3, they still served as fluffers for the big-shots in the gangs. If nothing else though, they have the distinction of being one of the first sets of bad guys introduced in the series. Hey, that should count for something, I suppose.

Random Observation: These guys were created back during early high school, but coincidentally, Madman shares part of his name with a good friend of mine today. That would be Mr. Ian Kent, whose middle name is, yup, James.

The Future: Do these guys even deserve a future? Well as it stands, Dweeb has been making amends for his past evils, and is actually becoming a pretty decent sort. Granted he still has his hentai-drawing fetish, but no one's perfect. There are actually two more projects in the work, and with what I've got planned, he might even be classified as a good guy in Junior Force: Exodus. Now as for those other two... well, it can't be a Junior Force story without Punk, Madman, and Dweeb, so we might see them again as well.