The Captain N Canon


Last Updated:
02/27/2007


Okay, this is where we establish what is considered canon, or official, for the Captain N universe. In other words: What really happened, and what didn't?

I will start out by counting up the number of universes that have been covered, and I'll describe each one. Prepare for some parallel universe theory!

Next, I'll go through each source one at a time and tell you what I believe to be official and unofficial. I may be wrong, however. Feel free to argue with me! =)

Finally, I'll give the lists of what is canon, what isn't, and what I need help on.


The Captain N Universes


Videoland


First, let me make something perfectly clear: the television series and the comic books take place in different universes. There are many reasons for this. In other words, the Videoland in the comic books is a different Videoland than the one on the TV series. So, those are two universes so far.


Earth


Next up - Earth. The Earth Kevin is from on the TV show is not our Earth. This can be proven by looking at the way that some of the characters (Simon Belmont, Mega Man, Kid Icarus, Mother Brain, King Hippo, and Bayou Billy) are drawn. Kevin recognizes them, though. Since they look different than they do in our games, then the only way Kevin can recognize them is if they appear like that in his video games. Therefore, Kevin's Earth can't be our Earth. The same is true for the Earth in the comic books. That plus the fact that it's animated, while our Earth is live-action. Definitely not our Earth!

While we're on the subject of Earth, the TV series Earth and the comic book Earth are not in the same universe. The TV series Earth is live-action, like ours is. But the comic book Earth is animated, like ours most definitely isn't. So, when we add the two Earths to the two Videolands, the number of universes comes to four.


Did It Happen?


Captain N: The Game Master (TV series)


Most of the episodes of this television series are canon. The only exceptions are the second version of "How's Bayou", both versions of "When Mother Brain Rules", and the shortened/split versions of Seasons 1 and 2 episodes that aired during Season 3 as filler. As for "How's Bayou", the extra stuff that's in version 1 can be considered, but version 2 is more authoritative. The reason that I don't think "When Mother Brain Rules" is canon is because Simon talks to the audience, meaning he's aware that it's a TV show. To further prove this, he says "Cut! Cut!", "Oh, no, not this scene!", and "Where's my stuntman?!" at various points throughout the episode. I don't like characters being aware that they're actually on a show, so I don't consider it canon.


The Legend of Zelda (TV series)


This television series ran during Season 1 of Captain N. Since Link and Zelda appear in a few episodes in Season 2 of Captain N, the characters look almost the same in the two series, and the same people did their voices, I am including this series in the TV canon. It takes place during Season 1 of Captain N, before the N Team got Gameboy. I know there is controversy over whether the two series exist in the same universe or not, but I'm maintaining that they do until I'm offered conclusive proof to the contrary.


Original Air Dates


Since there's almost no information given in any of the episodes to firmly place the series in a specific time period, the original air dates are all that we have to go on. So, they are canon for the TV series. The Captain N and Zelda episodes take place on the original air dates. (Remember how Rick was talking about Saturday football practice in "The Big Game"? =)) If an episode takes place over the course of a few days, then the last day of the episode, storywise, takes place on the original air date, and you count backwards from there to the first day of the episode.

Keep in mind, however, that there is controversy over which list of "original air dates", if any, is correct, so this part of the canon can't be determined yet.


Closed Captions


The closed captions used on the show (apparently only during its NBC run) are inaccurate for two reasons. One: The captions usually give only a condensed version of what the character is actually saying. This is due to the fact that some sentences are too long to be displayed on-screen by closed captions. Two: Spellings of some words are horribly inaccurate. In "Mega Trouble For Megaland", the closed captions misspell Dr. Wily's name as "Dr. Wylie"! In "A Tale of Two Dogs", Dr. Right's name is spelled as "Dr. Wright", and Rush's name is misspelled in the captions as - gasp! - Russ! Mega Man clearly called his robodog "Rush"! In "Once Upon a Time Machine", Pero's name is spelled "Pero" and "Perot"! In "The Fractured Fantasy of Captain N", Astos is spelled "Astost". Well, at least it's more accurate than what I originally thought - "Ass Toast"! So the closed captions are not to be trusted. They can, however, be used for finding the spelling of some names you don't know how to spell. For instance, before my family got a closed-captioned television, I thought Stacey's name was spelled "Stacy". It was only when I checked the captions on "The Big Game" that I found out that her name has an "e" in it. Without the actual scripts, captions are good for that at least. Still, they aren't canon.


Magazine Articles and Other Such Sources


I can tell you right now, they're not canon. The preview article in "Nintendo Power" said Kevin was pulled into "Nintendoland". It also mentions "the power of the Orb" instead of the Ultimate Warp Zone. So magazine articles aren't canon.


Video Boxes


Uh, how about "Nah!"? I'm sorry, but there are a few things wrong here. Most are on the back of the "Gameboy" box. Look at the horrible way Kevin is drawn!!! Black shirt, brown belt, a Power Pad that closely resembles the Season 3 drawing - Kevin looks like some kind of weird gunslinger! And where, may I ask, did the Ns on Kevin's arms come from? And the info! King Charles was banished to Metroid? Uh, I beg to differ! He was banished to the Mirror World! As for the Tempo Video box for "Kevin In Videoland" and "Mega Trouble For Megaland", it's even worse! On the front, we see Kevin apparently coming out of a computer monitor! Sheesh! Sorry, but, as much as I love the front covers of the "Gameboy" and "Quest For the Potion of Power" boxes, I can't consider part of a source canon and the rest not, so the video boxes aren't canon.


Captain N: The Game Master (Comic Books)


There are a bunch of differences between the comics and the TV series. There's really no way to explain them. So the Captain N comic books are canon for the comic book universes only.


The Legend of Zelda (Comic Books)


Kevin says in "Secrets of the Warp Zones": "Warp zones criss-cross every world in Videoland, from Kongoland to Hyrule!" Since Hyrule exists in the comic book Videoland, we can reasonable assume that the Zelda comic books are canon for the comic book Videoland.


Captain N, Zelda, Metroid, and Punch-Out!! comics published by Valiant


Nintendo Comics System, Nintendo Comics System Featuring..., The Best of the Nintendo Comics System, and some other series contain titles like "Metroid" and "Punch-Out!!" that don't have own title issues. Since Samus Aran and Mother Brain appear in the Captain N comic books, the Metroid stories are canon. Likewise, since King Hippo and Little Mac appear in the Captain N comic books, the Punch-Out stories are canon also. Also, there are Captain N and Zelda stories in these series that are not in the Captain N and Zelda title series. Those are canon, too. The Captain N, Zelda, Metroid, and Punch-Out!! stories are canon for the comic book Videoland only.


Super Mario Bros.


There were numerous SMB series: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, The New Super Mario World, and Super Mario All-Stars. Even though The Legend of Zelda aired on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Captain N was back-to-back with Mario, and the Mario shows were a part of Captain N & The Video Game Masters, I'm not considering any of the Mario series canon. The reason is that Mario and Luigi are said to be from Brooklyn, and, a lot of times, they travel to Earth, which is often referred to as "the real world". I dunno, but it would seem kinda funny if both the Mushroom Kingdom and Earth were part of Videoland! So, I am not including any of the Super Mario Bros. series as canon. The same is true for the Mario comic book series published by Valiant.


Gameboy


These comic books were also published by Valiant. I never read any issues, only skimmed through two of them. They have nothing to do with Gameboy on Captain N. My guess is that these comic books aren't canon.


Other Comic Books


Any and all comic books not published by Valiant are not canon. These include, but are not limited to, the Zelda, Super Metroid, and Mario comics published in "Nintendo Power" magazine.


Mega Man


This was a "Mega Man" TV series that ran from 1994 to 1996 - called "the Mega shows" by Mandi Paugh. The characters looked and sounded way different than on Captain N, and the show took place on Earth rather than in Megaland. It's definitely not canon.


Fan Fiction


No, fan fiction isn't canon. What do you think?!


Canon


Canon For the TV Universes


Captain N: The Game Master (TV Series)
The Legend of Zelda (TV series)
Original Air Dates (currently undetermined)


Canon For the Comic Book Universes


Captain N: The Game Master (comic book stories by Valiant)
The Legend of Zelda (comic book stories by Valiant)
Metroid (comic book stories by Valiant)
Punch-Out!! (comic book stories by Valiant)


Not Canon


Closed Captions
Magazine Articles
Video Boxes
All Things Mario
Gameboy (comic book stories)
Non-Valiant Comic Publications
The Power Team (TV Series)
Mega Man (TV Series)
Fan Fiction


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