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General

Scientists have been saying for years that nothing could possiblily live on this star's surface, but we've scanned Andross's ships going to and from the star. Only he would be foolhardy as to try to find military benefit in exploring a red dwarf like Solar. It's another situation we need to have you to check out for us Fox. Nothing in the Cornerian armoury can withstand the extreme temperature near the surface of the star, but your Arwings should be able to make it.
—General Pepper's Flight Log, pg 70

Vulcain is an experimental bioweapon created by the evil mad scientist Andross, which dwells on the lava planet Solar in the middle of the Lylat System.

Anatomy[]

This is the enemy's bioweapon!?
Peppy Hare

Vulcain is a vaguely humanoid monster with three mandibles and twin scythe arms. It's appearance resembles both a skeleton and insect (a praying mantis, to be exact). It is able to adapt to extreme temperatures, as is demonstrated by its survival on the lava world. Vulcain is also capable of modifying its genetic structure to absorb and alter the molecules of objects in its environment.

History[]

Scientists have been saying for years that nothing could possibly live on this world's surface, but Andross's ships had been scanned going to and from the planet. Only Andross would be so foolhardy as to try to find military benefit in exploiting a molten planet like Solar. Only the Star Fox Team's specially modified Arwings could withstand the heat on the planet's surface, so they were sent by General Pepper to investigate what the Androssians were doing on the planet.

When the Star Fox Team encountered Vulcain, they were completely shocked at the bioweapon's appearance, as Falco also states that "Andross is an insane fool" for creating the bioweapon in the first place. Under Peppy Hare's advice, the first priority was to attack the arms, which started spewing magma once destroyed by Fox. When the arms were taken out, the head was the next focus. Enough damage was dealt and eventually the whole thing exploded in a shockwave, with the creature being decapitated in a flash immediately beforehand.

In the Comic[]

Vulcain appears in the Lylat Wars Comic, making the same role as it does in its game appearances. Peppy claims that he's heard about how Andross was developing a bioweapon on the planet, while Slippy calculates the Solar surface as reaching around 13,000 degrees before they encounter Vulcain. Fox defeats it by ramming through its body at a high boost. This power strike resembles a technique that would appear years later in Star Fox Command, when attacking an Anglar Mothership, as well as an attack Falco used to put the Goras out of commission for good in the manga Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco.

Name origin[]

  • The name "Vulcain" is the French name of "Vulcan", the Roman God of smithery and fire. The name of Vulcan is also the etymology (i.e. the source word) of "volcano".
  • His Japanese name, Sangā, is likely a reference to the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Fredrick Sanger, considering he’s one of Andross’s bioweapons. Their names are spelled the same in Japanese.

Notes[]

  • According to the Japanese SF64 website, Vulcain was originally to share the role of boss of Sector X with Spyborg (with the specific boss being fought depending on the route the player took earlier), which was the Androssian Army's Biological Weapons Development Factory. He was being shipped out the far side of the ruined base when Star Fox found him, and he burst out of his shipping container. Textures found in Sector X's assets confirm this, revealing a non-molten version of Vulcain. His original name had nothing to do with fire, either. In addition, it was originally intended that Vulcain was the secret weapon Andross was developing rather than Spyborg.
  • Just before the battle with Vulcain, there was a large flock of Gores emerging from the magma, implying that the two creatures share a connection.

Gallery[]

Names in Other Languages[]

Language Name
Japanese Sanger (サンガー, Sangā)
Spanish La Vulcans (Third declension I-stem, base Vulcant-, from El Vulcán (volcano)
Portuguese La Vulcão (Third declension, base Vulcan-, from O Volcão (volcano))
French La Vulcain (From Latin Vulcānus, Latin name for Greek Hephaestus, God of metalworking, the forge, and fire)
Italian La Vulcano (Fourth declension, base Vulcan-, from Il Volcano (volcano))
Latin Vulcāna (First declension noun, from Latin Vulcānus)

References[]

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