Ring Raiders - Skull Squadron Pilots and Planes

Skull Squadron Pilots and Planes

• Scorch (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) – Stanley Smith is the identity of Scorch who is founder and director of the Skull Squadron. This fighter-tactics master knows every feint and trick—dirty and otherwise—under the sky. He's a relentless dogfighter who remains to be bested or outmaneuvered. Bitter to the core, Scorch lives for the day he can take on—and take out—Victor Vector, whom he blames for the burns that cover his left arm and his left face, which explains why he wears a skull-like mask. As trainer-leader of the elite "Ambush Wing", Scorch pilots Scorch's Torch, a customized Saab Viggen fighter-interceptor that houses a full arsenal of incendiary weapons and electronic countermeasures. If there's one plane that can burn even Victor Vector in a dogfight, it's this one.

• Hubbub (voiced by Stuart Goetz) – Hubbub is a punk rocker who loves to create chaos wherever he goes. Heavily into electronics, he uses the myriad high-tech devices in his plane to baffle and confuse the Ring Raider squadrons. He's also a master at vocal impressions and at locking onto Ring Raider frequencies to imitate a Ring Commander's voice issuing false orders. Hubbub doesn’t just make a lot of noise, though. He's a tough but unconventional aerial combatant, basically a street-thug of the air. Nothing makes this punker's day like a good aerial rumble. As trainer-leader of "Rebel Wing", Hubbub pilots the Zapmaster, a customized Mirage III equipped with lightning capacitators that can electrify an entire cloud at the touch of a thumb trigger. Any Ring Raiders who underestimate Hubbub or his Zapmaster are literally in for a major shock.

• Cutthroat – Cutthroat is the Skull Squadrons' "spy pilot". This wicked agent may be even more lethal on the ground than in the air...and you'd better believe he's plenty lethal in the air. A master of disguise and duplicity, Cutthroat is a constantly dreaded yet grudgingly respected threat to Ring Raider security. He pilots the Bayonet, a customized F19A stealth fighter. In a dogfight, he's likely to show up almost anywhere with little or no warning. Whether he's striking inside Ring Raider headquarters, or at 55,000 feet, Cutthroat's favorite attack is the classic knife-in-the-back ambush. Cutthroat did not appear in the toy line.

• Siren (voiced by Susan Silo) – Siren is the only female Skull Squadron leader. Her MiG-25 is armed with a complete arsenal of powerful sonic weapons. Siren existed solely in the cartoon; neither she nor her plane were a part of the comic book or the toy line.

• Chiller – Chiller is among the most feared Skull Squadron pilots. He puts the "cold" in "cold and ruthless". Chiller is also known for brooding, being a man with some dark secret that he is unable and/or unwilling to share with anyone else. He's a loner in the sky, too, preferring solo surprise attacks on straggling Ring Raiders. As trainer-leader of "Bandit Wing", Chiller pilots the Ice Machine, a customized F-104 Starfighter with an arsenal of unusual "ice" weapons. The deadliest of these is a modified thermal-reverse beam gun that can freeze dry anything up to a mile away.

• Slingshot – Slingshot (aka Shooter) lives by the old saying "shoot first and ask questions later". This Old West-style gunslinger pilots the Sixgun, a customized A-10 Thunderbolt II packed full of enough sophisticated weaponry to keep a whole air force at bay; and Slingshot knows how to use all of it with unmatched precision. It doesn’t take a whole lot to make this airborne desperado "go for his guns". With six extra mini turbo jets to fire all at once, the Sixgun can jump over the top of Mach 2 for spring-loaded getaways and surprise attacks. He did not appear in the toy line.

• Mako (voiced by Jack Angel) – Mako is the last man you should ever mess with in air-sea operations. This bloodthirsty Skull Squadron tracker is normally cold and methodical, but when he's on the verge of a strike, he goes into a state of frenzied excitement, which makes escape from his gun sights almost impossible. Mako thinks nothing of holding a grudge either; he’ll search the skies and the seven seas for anyone who has crossed him, particularly his former wingman, Yuri Kirkov. As trainer-leader of "Vicious Wing", Mako pilots the Sea Hunter, a customized MiG-29 Fulcrum specially adapted for sea duty. Its high-tech arms include a special device named CADS, short for Computer-Aided Dimensional Sonar. Moreover, the Sea Hunter gives literal meaning to the expression "flying fish"; it's capable of operating underwater.

• Wraith – Wraith (aka Wraither) has been spotted among the Skull Squadron flyers since World War II. Some say this deadly dogfighter is actually just a flight suit handed down from one Skull Squadron pilot to another. Yet those who have dueled with him and the Galloping Ghoul, his ghostly P-51 Mustang, come away sure that neither Wraith nor the Ghoul are of this world. When the skull visor is lifted on his helmet, there is no face behind it. Wraith is the trainer-leader of "Vulture Wing". The Galloping Ghoul carries more than a ton of serious combat equipment, and packs a few extra pounds of mysterious muscle: it's able to disappear into thin air and reappear, which gives it an eerie edge when taking on much-faster Ring Raiders. The name of his plane, the Galloping Ghoul, which is a P-51 Mustang, is likely a reference to The Galloping Ghost (aircraft), a real-life P-51 that was used in air races.

• Blackjack – Blackjack specializes in night attacks and is the most daring member of the Skull Squadron, taking chances that most people in their right mind would never take. If Blackjack were ordered to fly his plane through the eye of a needle, he would, provided the odds were in his favor. As trainer-leader of "Havoc Wing", Blackjack pilots the Battle Bird, a customized Hawker Siddeley Harrier "jump jet" that's loaded with special night-combat gear. In addition to more than four tons of carry-on arms, the Battle Bird is equipped with an invisible infrared beam that detects objects in the dark and flashes them, in living-daylight colors, onto a 3-D view screen inside Blackjack's cockpit.