- "If you win, you live. And just so you know, I never lose!"
- —The infamous Dark Ace.
The Dark Ace is a veteran pilot in the service of the Cyclonian Empire. He is the central antagonist of Storm Hawks (TV series).
He is currently allied to the Cyclonians, although he was formerly a member of the Original Storm Hawks before he betrayed them. He is a feared pilot in Atmos and is said to be undefeated. However, after the first fight between himself and Aerrow, the Dark Ace is continually 'defeated' by the Storm Hawks, although the fights are often interrupted or the circumstances change in the favor of the younger pilots. Nevertheless, he is still a force to be reckoned with in the battle for control of Atmos.
Biography[]
- "Then… his own co-pilot betrayed him. The Storm Hawks and the Condor were destroyed. The alliance quickly crumbled. Cyclonia won. The traitor was rewarded. Soon he would be known across Atmos as the “Dark Ace."
- —The origin of the Dark Ace.
The man who would become known as the “Dark Ace” betrays Lightning Strike.
The Dark Ace was formerly a member of the original Storm Hawks team -- serving as a co-pilot for the squadron's leader, Lightning Strike (as Radarr serves as co-pilot for Aerrow) -- until he betrayed them in favor of the Cyclonians. He is an infamous and feared pilot in Atmos, said to be undefeated and self-described as having defeated more Sky Knights than anyone. Such boasting is not without its merits: he has taken down the entire Storm Hawks squadron (even Aerrow in their first battle) and defeated the five-man Rex Guardians in less than a minute; although in both cases respectively the Storm Hawks were probably very inexperienced and the Rex Guardians were using outdated tactics and equipment.
He formed a rivalry with Aerrow after the pilot episode, and the two are typically evenly matched, but there's often something that interferes with their fights before they finish (in one battle Dark Ace actually managed to disarm Aerrow, but a sudden shift on the airship they were on allowed Aerrow to get his weapons back to beat the Dark Ace). The Dark Ace serves as the commander of the Cyclonian Talons.
The Dark Ace prepares to fight Aerrow.
A ruthless warrior, the Dark Ace doesn't settle for simply defeating his opponents, at least not when he has the opportunity to do more. In his first battle with Aerrow, he states that the winner of a battle is the one to come out alive, though he lets Aerrow live simply to further damage his pride and to make a point to the spectators.
After the final battle at Terra Cyclonia, Cyclonis overused her binding powers and transferred too much of the Crystal, which she obtained from the 'Far Side of Atmos', into the Dark Ace, and caused a power overload that seemingly destroyed him.
Appearance[]
Dark Ace has black, spiky hair and red eyes (originally mahogany). He is tall and slim, and wears the usual black, green and red Talon uniform, with the red Talon symbol on the armour on his chest.
Personality[]
Dark Ace is quite arrogant, power hungry, selfish, and traitorous. Ten years prior to the series he betrayed his allies the original Storm Hawks to gain the loyalty of Cyclonia. He is quite sadistic as he later went on to become a fearsome individual throughout Atmos and took great pleasure in the reputation he gained. He implies he has killed most of his past opponents when he first faces Aerrow. It also demonstrates that he underestimates his enemies as he thought little of Aerrow being only a teen only to be beaten by him later on. He does however have some loyalty to Master Cyclonis, doing everything he can to protect her from the debris of the tower crumbling onto them.
Relationships[]
Master Cyclonis[]
Unlike Master Cyclonis' other minions, the Dark Ace displays loyalty beyond that of the others. While Ravess and Snipe are loyal to her at least partially out of fear, the Dark Ace shows a willingness to protect Master Cyclonis even at his own expense, diving between her and a falling support beam in the pilot. Master Cyclonis herself jokingly dismisses his failure to defeat Aerrow in the same episode, and his position suggests she holds more faith in him than she does anyone else. In the episode "Cyclonia Rising", however, his faith seems to be shaken when Cyclonis brings back new minions from the far side of Atmos. During a fight with Aerrow and Piper, the Dark Ace is, at first, apparently killed when he is overloaded with far side crystal energy transmitted by Cyclonis; it's unclear if she did this on purpose or merely got carried away. However, his good mannerisms end with Master Cyclonis.
Cyclonian Talons[]
The way Dark Ace treats the Talons under his control is shameless and sometimes dishonorable, in at least one episode he is rescued from falling into the Wastelands by a Talon who catches him after his Switchblade Elite crashes. The Dark Ace usually proceeds to force the Talon off the ride without even thanking him and resumes his pursuit of Aerrow, although he was immensely enraged at the time and may have thrown him off rather then merely taken control out of anger. However, even when saved in a seemingly calm situation, the Dark Ace still forces a Talon off their ride anyway. The Talons still respect him as an authority figure, following his demands almost immediately when called to. This could be out of fear on the Talons part, or they still respect him for fighting on the frontline with them rather than commanding them from afar and his skills in combat.
Snipe[]
In various episodes, it is shown for the Dark Ace to command Snipe and show leadership over him. In "The Lesson", he refers to him as 'Mr Snipe'; this one instance shows an example of Dark Ace's leadership, yet his is the only circumstance in which he addresses him in such a way. However, he is shown to be disproving of Snipe's pursuits, in one episode where Snipe is constructing a deadly battleship, the Dark Ace pays a visit and seems distinctly unimpressed with the entire ensemble.
- "You probably can't see the Condor in that enormous blind spot behind your bloated ship!"
- —Dark Ace, to Snipe
Of course, in all fairness Snipe is always asking for a beat down to his over loaded ego. He also is unimpressed by Snipe's boasting, the Talon saying how he will defeat the Storm Hawks and dominate the Quadrant had the higher commander leave, claiming that Snipe had his way, but Dark Ace had his too. The Dark Ace also seems to enjoy Snipe's punishment, smirking as he knew Snipe would possibly be sanctioned after his silly antics in 'Power Grab'. It is also implied that the Dark Ace would be the one to deliver the sanction, asking Master Cylconis what she'd have him do with Snipe, Ravess and the others.
Ravess[]
Ravess seems to be respectful of the Dark Ace, carrying out his orders and being one of the only ones not to question his methods. However, the Dark Ace doesn't seem to share the same regard for her, one instance being when Master Cyclonis orders him to banish Ravess from Cylconia. A few episodes later, this seems to be the case, showing the Dark Ace to have done just that.
The Rex Guardians[]
In his battle with Harrier, the Dark Ace makes it a point to sever the Sky Knight's parachute after destroying his vehicle so that he'll fall to his death. However, since he did not do the same for the rest of the Rex Guardians and sparred Aerrow, it is possible Dark Ace greatly disliked Harrier for his immense arrogance and naïvety and only attempted to kill him out of disgust. That, or he may have had a past grudge against him from the days of the original Storm Hawks, whom Harrier and the Rex Guardians were closely allied with.
Storm Hawks[]
The Dark Ace, former Storm Hawk.
Aerrow[]
The Dark Ace and Aerrow are arch rivals. In their first duel, the Dark Ace defeated and humiliated Aerrow and only spared him to damage Aerrow’s pride. However, after Aerrow defeated him in his second duel, the Dark Ace gained a vendetta against Aerrow and hates him more than the other Storm Hawks. In the majority of their duels, Aerrow has consistently outsmarted and Outmatched the Dark Ace with a combination of skill, strategy and the Dark Aces own arrogance, further angering him. He was shocked when Master Cyclonis denied him his request to kill Aerrow in battle rather than freeze him in a crystal, due to her knowing he was better than Dark Ace. In the final battle against Cylonia, Aerrows continues to best the Dark Ace in combat easily, forcing him to abandon his pride to get Binding power from Cyclonis to win. After Aerrow gains the same power and bestows it to Piper as well, they easily defeat him again, causing him to crave more power and ultimately had himself nearly destroyed to try to have vengeance on them, showing Dark Ace’s arrogance and vendetta against Aerrow finally consumed him to the end. Aerrow also despises the Dark Ace for the destruction of the old Storm Hawks and his father Lightning Strike. The Dark Ace, along with Cyclonis, are the only opponents Aerrow has shown a willingness to kill as well. Aerrow will stop at nothing to save Atmos and his squadron from the Dark Ace and his wicked master.
Abilities and Equipment[]
Pilot: Dark Ace is an excellent pilot once a co-pilot of Lightning Strike and later a veteran pilot for the Cyclonian army.
Tactical analysis: Dark Ace is an excellent strategist and leader able to command various members of Cyclonia's army into battle and come up with ways to evade or capture the Storm Hawks on occasion.
Martial artist: Dark Ace is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, able to engage in direct combat with Aerrow on several occasions.
Acrobatics: Dark Ace is extremely agile and has great balance to battle mid air and jump from various skimmers when battling during flight.
Expert blade-fighter: Dark Ace uses blades in combat to fight Aerrow and his other opponents.
Indomitable will: Dark Ace has incredible will power, he is completely loyal to Cyclonis even willing to risk his life to protect her when the tower collapsed on them.
Gear[]
Grappling Hook[]
Attached to his left arm is some form of hydraulic pump which for awhile seemed to have no significant purpose as he is only ever seen using it once, to snatch the Phoenix Crystal from Aerrow in "The Code". However it is now known that the hydraulic pump powers a discrete grappling hook that seems to have a significant reach, allowing him to recover from ungainly situations.
Glider[]
Once the Dark Ace has been forced in some way off his ride or needs to make a quick escape in the absence of a Skimmer, he can use a retractable hang-glider which he appears to wear in place of a parachute. Aerrow is seen to also have a retractable hang-glider, however the Dark Ace's version sports a booster for additional thrust and powered flight. This is seen in "The Code", and when the Dark Ace is forced out of the Suit of Untold Vengeance.
Ride[]
The Dark Ace pilots a Talon Switchblade Elite, the design of which is basically similar to the Skimmers piloted by the Storm Hawks. However, it exceeds the Skimmer in almost every category, losing only in maneuverability, as it is hampered by the excessive armor it comes equipped with. The Switchblade uses Magma 66 engines, which outperform any other engine at the cost of fuel economy, though the Cyclonian crystal resources are such that this point is moot.
Attached to the wings are secondary blades, designed to slice through other vehicles in deliberate near-collisions. The Dark Ace can be seen making use of this design in several episodes. In addition, the nose and wings are reinforced to allow the vehicle to deliberately ram others and survive. The Dark Ace's model is also equipped with three-inch thick bronze absorption panels on the wings that repel most energy blasts and a single ball-joint articulation between the front and back wheel that allows him to make impossible turns in bike mode.
Weaponry[]
The Dark Ace with his sword.
Two-Handed Crystal Blade[]
In battle, the Dark Ace wields a two-handed long double blade that can fire deadly blasts of energy, that previously belonged to Lightning Strike, the former Storm Hawks leader. It is most effective when used with a Firebolt Crystal. Like Aerrow, the Dark Ace has a signature attack which fires a massive energy pulse using his blade, though his attack doesn't always have the same dramatic touches that Aerrow's does. It also seems very durable as in one episode Aerrow crushed and bent it and an episode later it appeared fixed. The Dark Ace also seems to be able to track or at least have good luck finding his sword when he loses it. Either from when it gets knocked from his hands by dueling with Aerrow or when he drops it when he loses his ride.
Energy Whip[]
Long and dangerous, this crystal powered energy whip has a huge range and can cause some pretty serious damage when used by someone with great aim.
Trivia[]
- Although he is presumed dead, this is may not be the case due to the show's past of not having any characters dying and the Dark Ace's importance in the show. In an alleged Q&A with the creators of the show they revealed that the Dark Ace was not dead, implying that if the show had continued he would have returned.
- The Dark Ace is voiced by Samuel Vincent who also voices Aerrow.
- As shown in the Finale, Aerrow has superior Sky-Fu to the Dark Ace even without power ups from the Binding.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Dark Ace/Gallery