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Walt the Wallaby is the leader of the Downunda Freedom Fighters. He has engaged in numerous battles with Crocbot and led the Downunda Freedom Fighters on numerous successful missions. In battle, he wields explosive weapons called Bomberangs, which are incredibly effective against enemies.
History[]
Battles with Crocbot[]
Walt was the instigator of the formation of the Downunda Freedom Fighters, having set out on a "hopabout" in the latter years of Dr. Ivo Robotnik's reign in order to find his destiny. While traveling, he ran into a meditating Guru Emu, who took Walt to be an answer from the universe regarding his own path in life and thus joined him on his journey. The two quickly became friends, and they soon befriended Duck "Bill" Platypus and Wombat Stu during the latter pair's investigations of illegal activities that they soon traced to Crocbot. Uncovering the location of the robotic despot's main base, they were joined by their final member, Barby Koala, a mercenary who abandoned that career path in order to help her new friends battle against Crocbot. They succeeded in destroying Crocbot's facility, only for him to return some time later and thus spark an antagonism that continued for some time. (StH: #103)
The Downunda Freedom Fighters' conflict with Crocbot soon led to their first encounter with a Freedom Fighter from another area of Mobius: Miles "Tails" Prower, a member of the Knothole branch of the organization. Saving Tails from a pack of Crocbot's Wing Dingoes, Walt took him to the Great Crater to see the Echidna mystic Athair while his teammates went to save Wombat Stu from the villain. Walt rejoined his team just in time to witness the arrival of a massive blimp carrying supplies from Robotnik that would allow Crocbot to establish total control over Downunda and fuel the robot's secret agenda of overthrowing Robotnik and seizing power himself. Walt and his teammates attacked valiantly, and one of Walt's own Bomberangs destroyed Crocbot's CD-ROM Ram. Only the timely arrival of Tails, however, allowed the Downunda Freedom Fighters to bring down the blimp and save Stu, as well as knocking Crocbot into the Great Crater using another Bomberang. Walt and the others then offered Tails a position with their team, but Tails declined in favor of returning to Knothole with the aid of the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters. (TMS: #1, #2, #3)
Prisoner[]
Walt, Bunnie, Antoine and Barby fight their way out through Combots to escape Crocbot's prison camp.
Crocbot was later revealed to have survived his fall into the Great Crater, having become fused together with his tank and built an army of Combots using leftover components from the blimp. Constructing a massive prison in the crater, he captured the Downunda Freedom Fighters and spent an unknown amount of time torturing them to the point where the brave heroes cowered at the appearance of him. By the time Bunnie Rabbot and Antoine D'Coolette were sent to the prison as inmates, Walt and Barby were under the impression that their teammates had all perished. Blaming himself for failing to protect them, Walt refused to accept comfort from Barby, but found new hope when Bunnie was able to escape her specially designed restraints by exploiting their lack of attention to her organic right arm. Fooling a guard by detonating the explosive restraints while staying a safe distance away, they not only escaped their cell but learned that their comrades still lived. Breaking out the other Downunda Freedom Fighters, Walt led them in battle against Crocbot's forces while Bunnie and Antoine made their escape back to Mobotropolis. Walt's team even succeeded in overthrowing Crocbot and destroying his forces, leaving their homeland safe-or so they thought. (StH: #49, #50 SSS: #4)
Platypus Problems[]
The Downunda Freedom Fighters' battle with Crocbot concluded with one final campaign in which Bill Platypus led an army of his brainwashed brethren in attacks against his former teammates. After Guru Emu and Wombat Stu were captured on their way to a negotiation with Bill, the group received some welcome aid: Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails, stopping by on their search for the evil wizard Ixis Naugus. Walt quickly found reason to complain about their presence, as Barby showed clear affection for Tails and Sonic's ego led him to usurp Walt's authority over the Downunda Freedom Fighters. Bickering all the way, the two nevertheless managed to break through the Platypus army and reach Bill's base, where they found the badly damaged but still functioning remnants of Crocbot. The mechanical despot revealed that he had placed a post-hypnotic triggered mind control chip on Bill during his imprisonment, which had been activated by the sight of Crocbot's torso. Crocbot had coerced him and the entire Platypus population into stealing materials for a new body for himself, a plan now thwarted by the Freedom Fighters. To Walt's anger, Sonic then interrupted Crocbot's warnings of the mythical Bunyip by unplugging the robot, citing King Maximillian Acorn's command that all underlings of Dr. Ivo Robotnik be captured. Barby persuaded Walt to let it go, and they bid farewell to their friends, not really taking Crocbot's threats seriously. (StH: #61)
Fighting the Bunyip[]
Walt going to assist the DFF in combating Bunyip
Following Wombat Stu's departure from the group to join the Royal Secret Service, Walt and his remaining teammates held tryouts for a new member, but failed dismally to find any worthy recruits. Their boredom in the wake of Crocbot's final defeat was broken by news of the Bunyip, which had been attacking innocent bystanders. Traveling to a stagnant lake said to be home to the creature, Walt asked Guru Emu for a rundown on the mythical creature. Part of the way into Guru's explanation, the Bunyip attacked, grabbing Barby and enraging Walt. He attacked the creature head-on, freeing Barby only to get caught himself. Barby tried to aid him, but both of them ended up being dragged underwater. Fortunately and to Walt's relief, Barby was able to communicate with the creature, and persuaded it to take them to an air-filled observation chamber built into the dam that had created the lake. Bunyip then explained that its way of life had been disrupted by Crocbot, whose early takeover attempts had included damming the river Bunyip had lived in, thus creating an increasingly stagnant lake. Furious over the matter, Bunyip had vowed revenge, but had been unable to find Crocbot in its rampages. Walt and the others informed it of Crocbot's defeat, and completed their long campaign against the villain by destroying his dam, thus freeing the Bunyip once and for all. Given the success of this mission, Walt decided against recruiting a new member, a decision fully supported by the others. (StH: #103, #104, #105)
Further Conflicts[]
E-102 Gamma saving Walt from an attacking Wing Dingo
After Wombat Stu rejoined the team, Walt and the Downunda Freedom Fighters' next major actions involved joining the other Freedom Fighter groups from across Mobius as well as several other organizations in opposing the Xorda, a hostile alien race bent on destroying Mobius. Having heard the Xorda's threat through a planetwide telepathic broadcast, the team traveled to the Southern Tundra and joined in the massive charge against the Quantum Dial weapon placed their by the Xorda. Their efforts had little effect, however, and they would likely have been destroyed along with their allies had it not been for the timely return of Knuckles the Echidna from the afterlife and for the heroic sacrifice of Sonic, who seemingly perished in a suicide run that destroyed the dial, and unbeknownst to his allies threw him across time and space. The threat averted, the Downunda Freedom Fighters returned to their home continent. (StH: #124, #125)
At some point in time Walt found himself being attacked by a Wing Dingo only to have E-102 Gamma destroy it from the shadows, saving him. (SU: #3)
Later Bill left the DFF, and became Grandmaster of the Downunda Dark Egg Legion, and was replaced by Thrash. Walt and the DFF later saved the Chaotix and Dr. Finitevus against a pack of Wing Dingoes, and explained the nature of the threat posed by his team's enemies to the Chaotix. He later pulled Knuckles aside to ask how much he trusted Finitevus; when Knuckles explained that the doctor was only with them out of necessity and that he was responsible for the death of Locke, Walt was actually somewhat relieved, as he knew that Finitevus was in fact working with the Legion and was afraid that the news of this betrayal would be hard on Knuckles. Walt then suggested that when their teams would split up, his side would take Finitevus with them and ensure that he would not come back. Knuckles agreed to this plan; unfortunately, in part due to Thrash's temper, the plan went awry and Walt and his team were not only unable to eliminate the doctor, but were in fact captured by Bill and Finitevus. (SU: #11)
After Finitevus departed, leaving the prisoners to his allies, Bill released his old teammates and explained to a confused Walt that his people had pressured him into siding with Eggman, and he had done so to appease them and in hopes of thwarting Eggman's advance. Leaving their old friend "under guard" to convince his underlings that he was still Eggman's lackey, Walt and the other Freedom Fighters joined the Chaotix in freeing Angel Island and scattering the Legion. Afterwards, the two groups parted warmly, each leaving the other to resume their own duties. (SU: #12)
Personality[]
Walt is typically very friendly and sensible, and is trusted by his teammates as the leader of the Downunda Freedom Fighters. His authority over his team was usurped when Sonic came to Downunda while they were looking for Bill, causing Walt and Sonic to bicker throuought the whole mission.(StH #61)
He's pretty tough on himself when things go wrong, or when his teammates are in danger.
Romance[]
Walt is known to have romantic feelings for his only female teammate, Barby Koala, whom Walt has spent a great deal of time with: the two were cellmates in Crocbot's prison camp and ended up as the only members of their team not to be captured by a brainwashed Bill. Sadly, Barby has yet to return his affections, sparking jealousy in the Wallaby when she displays such towards others, such as Tails when Barby kissed him on the cheek. (CSE)
Abilities[]
As a Wallaby, Walt is a powerful jumper able to cover long distances. Using his pouch, he can also carry others without much apparent effort. An effective fighter, his preferred weapons are Bomberangs, boomerang-shaped bombs that he seems to carry in limitless numbers in his pouch. As you can see in Sonic the Hedgehog # 61, Walt can use his tail to hit his enimies.
Also, being a wallaby, Walt is a really good kick boxer. He can stand on his tail, to kick with both feet. For wallabies and kangaroos, kick boxing is as important as breathing and eating.
Background Information[]
- Despite being a male Wallaby, Walt has a pouch, which in real life is a characteristic mainly of female marsupials. Whether or not this is the result of Walt as a genetic oddity or perhaps a characteristic of all Mobian Wallabys is unknown.
Appearance[]
Walt is a tall red wallaby with a peach front and a somewhat pear-shaped body. He typically wears gloves, boots, a vest and, sometimes, armbands/pouches, all in brown. Despite being male, he has a pouch on his abdomen in which he stores weapons. In some appearances, the tip of his tail fades to yellow. The design of his hands has altered on occasion with having a thumb and between two to three fingers