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| “ | Yo, Buddy. Still alive? | „ |
| ~ Pixy's catchphrase, directed at Cipher. |
| “ | So, have you found a reason to fight yet? Buddy. | „ |
| ~ Pixy before the final battle, right after killing PJ. |
Second Lieutenant Larry Foulke, also known by his callsign Pixy and his nickname Solo Wing, is a major character in the Ace Combat video game franchise, serving as the deuteragonist turned secondary antagonist of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
He is an ace mercenary pilot employed by the Republic of Ustio during the Belkan War. Despite being a Belkan himself, Foulke is not loyal to his country, fighting on the Allies' side instead, and is initially only interested in money. He is best known for his service in the player character's squadron, called "Galm Team", as the number two aircraft and later as a member of the paramilitary terrorist organization "A World With No Boundaries".
He was portrayed by Sean Ryan in live-action scenes, voiced by Takuya Kirimoto and dubbed in English by Yuri Lowenthal.
Biography[]
Past[]
Larry was a Belkan born in the south of his country in 1967. When he was a child, his hometown was invaded by Osean forces, who killed his parents while they were attempting to flee, forcing Larry to live in an orphanage for the rest of his childhood. He became a fighter pilot when he reached adulthood, specifically a mercenary.
Larry's most infamous battle was in 1993, in which his F-15C Eagle's wing was torn off by an enemy, but managed to remain in control of his aircraft and safely landed on the base, earning him the nickname "Solo Wing", painting the right wing (being the wing that got shot off) of his craft in red.
Belkan War[]
Foulke's F-15C Eagle
Pixy was hired in 1994 by Ustio's 6th Air Division mercenary force in response to Belka's invasion of neighboring countries, being assigned to Galm Team as its number two, right under his flight lead Cipher, who would later become known as the "Demon Lord of the Round Table".
Cipher and his wingman were launched from Valais to intercept a group of Belkan bombers heading for their base, in which Pixy gets to meet Cipher more closely, saying that he knows they will get along well. Galm Team launches once again two weeks later to secure a Sapinish supply line between Ustio and Osea's military, this being their second mission together. Their third mission consisted of engaging patrolling aircraft in Area B7R, also known as the Round Table. There, they face a Belkan ace squadron. Depending on the route the player has chosen, they will face Rot, Grun or Indigo.
Pixy continued successfully completing tasks alongside his flight lead Cipher, but things would eventually go down after the Allied Forces' invasion of Belka.
Galm Team was sent to attack the fortified ruins of Glatisant as a "nuclear arms inspection", according to the Allied Forces. They successfully carry out the mission, but notices a flash of light in the distance.
Larry begins to lose hope as they are sent to destroy Belka's second line of defense. Allied aircraft are suddenly destroyed by Excalibur, a Belkan superweapon. He and Cipher narrowly escape to safety, as they are dispatched to destroy the weapon the next mission.
A few missions later, Larry and Cipher are sent to a massive furball over the Round Table. They quickly gain the upper hand over the Belkans, when Wizard 1 tells him that they should "leave their dead-end jobs", but Larry responds that it's not the time yet, foreshadowing their true nature.
The Allied Forces then send out Galm Team to bomb major Belkan city Hoffnung alongside other Allied aircraft, including Crow Team and Patrick James "PJ" Beckett. The attack was indiscriminate, targetting both civilian lives and military targets as the city was completely burnt. Larry was shocked by this atrocity and started doubting himself.
During Operation Point Blank, Larry was going slower than the other aircraft, prompting PJ to ask what was wrong. Larry dismisses this as being sad. After intercepting Belkan bombers with nuclear weapons, seven nuclear warheads were detonated in Belka, causing an electromagnetic interference in which Wizard 1 appears to "take him" to a different place. Larry then opens fire at Cipher briefly before retreating. It was later revealed that he ended up joining A World With No Boundaries, an anarchist terrorist organization comprised of many Belkan War veterans.
A World With No Boundaries uprising[]
The ADFX-02 Morgan
Larry remains absent for the rest of the war, sending a cryptic message to PJ at the end of Operation Valkyrie, which read "Yo, Buddy. Still alive?". Larry finally reappears at Avalon Dam, in control of launching the V2 warhead and piloting the prototype ADFX-02 Morgan. He suddenly attacks Cipher with a TLS (Tactical Laser System) after the destruction of the facility, but PJ takes the hit and is killed. Cipher then fights his former wingman over Avalon Dam, activating his aircraft's ECM shield and forcing Cipher to attack its front air intake. After narrowly avoiding a head-on collision, Morgan is critically damaged, and Larry ejects from it as it explodes in the air.
After the war, Larry arrives at a town on foot, where he is nursed back to health, regretting his actions as a terrorist. He then served as a soldier for the ISAF during the Continental War. In an interview several years later, Larry discusses his experience with Cipher and the true nature of borders as well. The interview ends with him giving one last message to Cipher should the interviewer encounter him, in which he says "Yo, Buddy. Still alive? And thanks friend. See you again."
Personality[]
Foulke is initially portrayed as an empty-headed, simplistic, and shallow man who is interested only in money. However, he is an extremely skilled and crackerjack pilot, earning his nickname "Solo Wing" after safely returning to base despite having the entire right wing of his aircraft shot off. Foulke is deeply saddened and angered when Allied aircraft get carried away and completely level a city during a routine bombing mission. The subsequent devastation the war causes starts to wear on Foulke and he begins to grow less enthusiastic about his duties and making money, claiming that the war is pointless and that he has no purpose. When Belka drops the seven nuclear weapons, Foulke finally makes up his mind to abandon the war and fight for his own causes. During his final confrontation with Cipher, he speaks about the idea of borders between countries and how they give rise to unnecessary and bloody conflicts. At the time he was hired by ISAF, he changed his views on borders and instead sought to learn their true nature and find out if erasing them would really make the world a better place.
Trivia[]
- The story of Foulke losing a wing, yet safely landing his aircraft is based on the real-world account of Zivi Nedivi, an Israeli Air Force pilot who lost his F-15C's right wing after a collision with an A-4 Skyhawk during a training exercise.
- Foulke's ideals are similar to those of Karl Marx, who discussed the removal of borders and authorities in his ideological treatise, The Communist Manifesto.
- Foulke's aircraft paint scheme is available in subsequent installments in the Ace Combat series as an aircraft skin for the player.
- Foulke's aircraft ADFX-02 Morgan may be a reference to Morgan le Fay, a character in Arthurian mythology who betrayed King Arthur, similarly to how Pixy betrayed Cipher. Morgan is traditionally depicted as Arthur's sister, and Cipher and Pixy, being close partners, could arguably be seen as sworn brothers, adding more parallels.
External links[]
- Larry Foulke on the Ace Combat Wiki
- Larry Foulke on the Heroes Wiki
