Wolf O'Donnell

Wolf in Star Fox Command.
Wolf O'Donnell
Species	Wolf
Eye color	Purple
Voiced by	Jock Blanely (1997) Grant Goodeve (2005) Jay Ward (2008-Present) Jay Green (2011-2016)
Debut	Star Fox 2 (unreleased) Star Fox 64 (officially released)

This article is about the Star Fox character. For the Fire Emblem character, see Wolf (Fire Emblem).

Wolf O'Donnell is a recurring antagonist from the Star Fox series. He is the leader of team Star Wolf, a group seemingly formed to rival Star Fox. Not much is known about Wolf or how he received his eyepatch. The roots of Wolf's rivalry with Fox McCloud also remain unknown.

Background

Wolf and his team were hired by Andross to deal with Star Fox during his attempt to take over the Lylat System in Star Fox 64. As a result, Wolf and Leon were joined by Pigma, former Star Fox pilot, and Andrew Oikonny, the nephew of Andross. The team encountered Star Fox on Fichina while leading a fleet of Venomian ships. Despite their advantage, the Star Wolf team was defeated. They fight again on Bolse, only to lose yet again. After most of Andross's forces had been defeated, Star Wolf arrived to defend Venom and were defeated yet again.

In the nine years after, Wolf became known as 'Lord O'Donnell' among the criminals at the Sargasso Space Hideout. The roster of Star Wolf changed, with Andrew and Pigma being replaced by Panther Caroso. When Fox invaded Sargasso looking for Pigma in Star Fox Assault, Wolf organized his team to take down Star Fox, but was inevitably defeated. However, once the Aparoid threat become more apparent, Wolf and his team arrived on Corneria to provide Fox some necessary aid. Afterward, Star Wolf provided Star Fox backup two different times, including the battle on the Aparoid Homeworld. After the planet exploded, the Star Wolf team was nowhere to be found.

Afterwards, Star Wolf continued their lives of crime, not unnoticed by the Cornerian military. In response, a bounty was placed on their heads (Wolf has the largest bounty, at S$3000000). To avoid the military's attention, they set up a base on Fichina.

Wanting to remove their bounties and tired of being seen as villains, Star Wolf began to plot out a way to defeat the Anglar Empire in Star Fox Command. After a battle with Fox, Slippy, and Lucy Hare (assuming Fox and Slippy went to Lucy's aid), the team split up. While Leon and Panther went to Katina, Wolf was presumably researching a device that Andross built that would neutralize the toxicity of the Venom Sea. Star Fox found the device on Titania first, however, and Star Wolf was not seen again.

Possible Fates

Three storylines of Star Fox Command do have Wolf and co. finding the neutralizing device and using it to assault Venom. In one of those, they are only able to destroy the Anglar HQ and force them to the Asteroid Belt, where Star Fox finishes the Emperor Anglar off. In the other two, Star Wolf defeats the Emperor Anglar and they're considered heroes, stealing glory from Fox and Falco (who recruited Wolf at Fichina and brought him to Titania to get the neutralizing device; Wolf then stole the device from them).

Wolf had a prominent role in three of the game's storylines.

• In Ending 3, Star Wolf was able to find the neutralizing device and used it to attack the Anglar HQ at Venom. They successfully destroyed the base and force the Anglars into the Asteroid Belt, where Star Fox was able to finish off the Emperor Anglar.
• In Ending 4, Star Wolf destroys the Anglar Emperor on Venom with Krystal's help. They are celebrated as heroes by the general populace, with the exception of Krystal.
• In Ending 7, Wolf initially worked with Fox and Falco to find the neutralizing device on Venom. However, Wolf then betrayed them and left with the device. He manipulated Pigma into keeping Star Fox busy while Star Wolf was able to use the device to initiate the attack on Venom. They destroyed the Anglar Emperor and became heroes. The humiliation Fox and Falco endured in the aftermath was great enough that they left Star Fox behind for a future as G-Zero racers.

Abilities

The Star Fox series does not showcase Wolf's abilities beyond his skills as a pilot. However, the Smash Bros. series gives him abilities which make him similar to a slower but stronger version of Fox. The following is his special moveset:

• Standard Special Move: Blaster - Wolf fires a blaster at enemies, which can only shoot one blast at a time. As an added twist, his blaster has a blade attached to it so that anyone nearby will be damaged by it when he draws it.
• Side Special Move: Wolf Flash - Wolf swiftly leaps upward at an angle at a high speed. This is a particularly useful move in setting up for Meteor Smashes.
• Up Special Move: Fire Wolf - Wolf shoots upward in the air, surrounding by a purple flaming aura.
• Down Special Move: Reflector - Wolf has his own version of the Reflector shield. In addition to reflecting beams fired at it, in the first second of its activation it will counter any attack made against Wolf.
• Final Smash: Landmaster - Wolf's Final Smash, like the other Star Fox characters, is the summoning of a Landmaster to attack opponents with. This Landmaster (which sports Wolfen colors) is both more powerful and mobile than Fox and Falco's Landmasters but lasts a shorter amount of time due to higher fuel consumption.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Nintendo Switch release Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Wolf appeared as the main antagonist of the missions featuring Fox as a playable guest character. In this storyline, Wolf had traveled to the Atlas system following Andross's defeat and was attempting to build an army for an attack on Corneria. In the end, he was defeated and forced to retreat.

Super Smash Bros.

Within the Super Smash Bros. series, Wolf has appeared as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, after previously making a cameo appearance in the opening cutscene of Super Smash Bros. Melee, which showed him in the middle of a battle with Fox in space. His physical appearance was based on his appearances from Assault and Command in Brawl, while in Ultimate it was based on his design from Star Fox Zero. Wolf's moveset is a clone of Fox's, with him being stronger but slower.

He can also activate special conversations with members of Star Fox and Star Wolf in the Lylat Cruise level by doing a Smash taunt, and he appears in some conversations triggered by Fox or Falco (one of which hints at him being playable). Although he was not playable in the 3DS/Wii U Smash, his extra appearance on the Lylat Cruise stage (in the form of Smash Taunt-triggered Star Wolf conversations) returned. The Wolf Flash also appeared as a custom move for Fox, and one of Fox's alternate costumes used Wolf's fur color.

In Ultimate, his Classic Mode route was called "Reunited Roster", and it was themed around pitting Wolf against other fighters who were left out of previous Super Smash Bros. games such as the Ice Climbers and Pichu, ending with a boss fight against Galleom.

Unlockability

In Brawl, he is unlocked by playing 450 brawls, beating the Boss Battles mode with Fox or Falco, or by getting him to join the party in "The Subspace Emissary". Wolf is not part of "The Subspace Emissary"'s main story. However, after The Subspace Emissary is beaten for the first time, a new door will appear in the Ruins level. This leads to the Lylat Cruise level, where Wolf leaps out from a Wolfen to challenge the player. Defeating Wolf in this level will unlock him in Subspace Emissary as well as in the rest of the game if he had not yet been unlocked.

In Ultimate, he could be unlocked through the game's variable-based system for unlocking characters, or by awakening him within Adventure Mode (where he was found within the Mysterious Dimension area).

Trophies/Stickers/Spirits

In Melee, Wolf does not have a trophy appearance, but there is one for Star Wolf's Wolfen starfighters. In Brawl, he has two unlockable trophies, a normal one and one of his Final Smash, as well as two stickers using art from Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Assault, and he also has a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U. In Ultimate, he has a Fighter Spirit which is unlocked through his completion of Classic Mode.

Canceled Appearances

• In Star Fox 2, Wolf would appear as the last opponent before Andross.

Trivia

• Wolf and his team were originally conceived for Star Fox 2 for the Super Nintendo; after the game's cancellation, Star Wolf was one of the elements of the game that was instead passed on to Star Fox 64.
• Command description: "The leader of the Star Wolf squadron. Despite the fact that Star Wolf is a rival organization, Wolf has a grudging respect for Fox."
• Wolf can be unlocked to play in Star Fox Assault's multiplayer mode. Due to his three maxed out stats, he's quite a formidable player.
• In the Super Smash Bros. games, some of his trophy descriptions notably make claims about Wolf's backstory which have not been hinted at in the Star Fox games. His Brawl trophy description says that Wolf's grudge with Fox originates from his history with Fox's father, James McCloud, while his 3DS/Wii U trophy mentions that he used to fight in Andross's army prior to Andross's exile. These imply that Wolf is closer to James's age than Fox. Additionally, in Pigma's trophy description, it is said that it was he who convinced Wolf to start Star Wolf.