 |
Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power comes great responsibility."
Spider-Man has declared that this article is still under construction. |
Battleship Halberd is Meta Knight's signature airship.
History
?
Overview
Appearance
After its debut in Kirby Super Star (1996), its appearance went through many changes but there are several central design elements which are never changed. Its bow always has Meta Knight's mask on it, its sides always have several large wings, and it is always bristling with a multitude of cannons. The Halberd's appearance in Kirby: Squeak Squadresembles its incarnation in the anime.
Interior
The interior of the ship is filled with long corridors with special trolleys to make travel faster. These trolleys are both present in the games and in the anime. In the anime, the many rooms inside include a kitchen, a jail, a training room, and a massive engine room, suggesting that a far larger crew was expected but the bridge is made to be run by just Meta Knight, Sword Knight and Blade Knight. In the games, bridge command consists of Meta Knight, Captain Vul, and Sailor Dee.
Armament
Its exact armaments and firepower vary from game to game, but in its latest appearances, it has a large cannon beneath its bow, with Main Cannon #2 at the top part of the ship. All other cannons are smaller than those two, and cover most arcs of the ship. The cannons fire flak shells, beams, and pulsed energy projectiles in the games and managed to shoot down Dyna Blade. In the anime they only fire laser beams, but appear to be vastly more powerful; a single shot is all that's required to down a Destrayer.
In its appearance in Revenge of Meta Knight, the Halberd carries a complement of a Heavy Lobster mech (or two) to defend against threats. In the anime, Heavy Lobster is sent by Nightmare instead to destroy the Halberd.
Main Cannon #2
Main Cannon #2 is a double-barrelled turret covering the top side of the Halberd. It fires a devastating laser, cannonballs, and a mechanical arm manipulates any enemy in front and attempts to drop bombs on them. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl the mechanical arm is used to atack Fox. When destroyed, it wrecks most of the top portion of the Halberd.
Reactor
The Reactor is the Halberd's main power plant. It is a room full of Wheelies running to power the ship, and its center is dominated by a large structure holding a crystal in place. It is defended by flamethrowers and a laser gun, the latter of which turns out to be its only weakness. In Kirby's Epic Yarn, it is defended by two flamethrowers instead.
Hull
Across the years, the ship's hull has become more elongated. In its appearance in Kirby Super Star, the anime, and in Kirby: Squeak Squad, it has a single bottom red glider like the one modern seafaring ships have. From Super Smash Bros. Brawl onwards, the ship has two sleek gliders with mounted guns instead, and a large cannon was installed between the gliders where the tip formerly was.
Wings
The Halberd's wings are usually bat-like in appearance, similar to Meta Knight's dimensional cape when he is flying. In Kirby Super Star, they simply phase into existence when deployed but in other games, they unfold slowly. In Kirby: Squeak Squad, the wings look like they do in the anime - they are sleek and have three rocket boosters attached to them, giving the Halberd a total of fourteen engines. In Kirby's Epic Yarn, the Halberd has six bat-like wings instead of just the usual four, having an additional large horizontal one on each side.
Crew
- Meta Knight: Meta Knight is the commander of the Halberd. His top subordinates are several high-ranking members of the Meta-Knights who command the rest of the crew.
- Captain Vul: Captain Vul is a high-ranking officer on the Halberd and member of the Meta-Knights. From his conversation, he thinks rather highly of himself, and rather lowly of his crew, pummeling them with all sorts of insults. He is obsessed with destroying Kirby and his measures to get rid of him get more and more extreme throughout Revenge of Meta Knight. After the Reactor is destroyed, he is the first to leave the ship.
- Sailor Dee:Nicknamed "Sailor Dee" or "Sailor Waddle Dee", this unnamed Waddle Dee with a sailor's hat is a member of the Meta-Knights, and shares command from the Halberd's bridge with Meta Knight and Captain Vul. He is the most timid among them and is first to voice the collective worry of the crew.
- Axe Knight: One of the Axe Knights is an officer on the ship and has a few lines of dialogue in Revenge of Meta Knight.
- Mace Knight: Like Ax Knight, one of them is an officer on the ship and has a few lines of dialogue. He stashed food and a 1UP in a secret room on the Halberd for himself without the knowledge of his superiors.
- Other members: There is a Heavy Lobster mech (possibly two) on board the Halberd which was destroyed in Revenge of Meta Knight. The remainder of the Halberd's crew are made up of regular enemies and Meta-Knights including several Trident Knightsand Javelin Knights. The lowliest of the crew are perhaps the Wheelies in the Reactor, which run around to and fro in chambers not unlike hamster wheels to power the whole ship.
Trivia
- Where Main Cannon #2 is attached is not exactly the same across versions either. In Kirby Super Star and Brawl, it is located at the front part of the ship, but in Kirby: Squeak Squad it is at the second-to-top level. Its lasers are colored blue in the games and orange in the anime.