- “OINK!”
- —Herbert
Herbert is a loyal android pig designed by Andross to obey his commands and keeps him company. He is also a favourite piggy data bank and the power source for Andross's base on Venom.
Biography
It is possible that the reason Andross constructed Herbert, or at least the reason he loved him so much, was because Andross was apparently orphaned at infancy, and was raised by upstanding foster parent android pigs. The android pig parents met an unfortunate death at the hands of a Cornerian Military experiment, planting the seeds of Andross's hatred towards Corneria's Military and his motives for revenge.
In chapter 1, Herbert was stolen from Andross during a raid on Papetoon. Following this, Andross sends a telekinetic message to General Pepper, angrily mentioning the theft of Herbert in his threats.
Herbert mysteriously appears again in chapter 5, in Andross's possession once more. It turns out (perhaps a retcon) that the android pig stolen was not Herbert. Nonetheless, it was full of top-secret data regarding Venom, allowing Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad to sneak into Andross's control chamber and destroy Herbert. Without power, Andross's telekinetic amplifier became vulnerable allowing Fox McCloud to destroy the power core.
It is later revealed that after his destruction, Herbert's remains were kept in the rebel base on Papetoon.
Herbert II
While Andross was restoring his powers on Fortuna, he was seen with the new Herbert II. He also set out with Andross's speeder and Monarch Dodora. But when the Star Fox Team turned the creature against Andross, Herbert II was seen weeping above his debris.
Herbert II then went to the ruins of Venom and following Andross's instructions in a pre-recorded message, he was responsible for his cloning using strands of the Ape's hair, and a psycho-print of his brain patterns.
When Andross's clones attacked Papetoon, Herbert joined them in the assault. It's not clear which was which, as Slippy realised that the original Herbert's remains mysteriously vanished, presumably to join his master's forces. After his armada was destroyed, Herbert accompanied Andross's Dancing Insector, and then followed him to the Black Hole.
Notes
Andross's association with pigs in the comics may have been carried over into the games since Pigma Dengar has been a frequent associate of Andross.
Herbert II's body greatly resembles the RX-78 Gundam from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise.
