Double Dragon was the first game I really knew back to front, the first I beat, though kid me never got past the elbow smash trick: an overpowered move made unbeatable by alternating sides to keep a pounded enemy down. This 40-year-old arcade classic has a wealth of spinoffs, remakes, reboots and genre media, and a funny thing about it is how everything ditches the original game's grim 70s vibes (inspired by Enter the Dragon and The Warriors) in favor of the brighter aesthetics of the 80s and the 90s. It turns out one I missed represents the high point of this genre! Here's merritt k on a rare Marvel Comics miniseries.
The comic steps even further away from the Double Dragon games by turning Billy and Jimmy Lee into statue-powered superheroes that look like they were rejected by the Wild C.A.T.S. for not putting enough effort into their costumes. Sorry, let me take that again. They look like the Ken and Ryu of a Spanish Street Fighter clone from 1995 called Handsome Gigolo Combat II: Battle for Wealthy Dowager. As you can tell from their facial expressions, Billy is the reckless goofball and Jimmy is the no-nonsense stoic. These are the only personality traits they will receive in six issues, other than their shared interest in porking Marian Steele, here upgraded from "girlfriend" to "cybercop," with the power of having a gun and using it.
A fantastic review of a thing very much of its own time.
Speaking of which, never has there been a better time for a grittily realistic Double Dragon period movie set in a very brown and tan 1979 or so! It would go perfectly with the moist carpets and heroin dens of the original arcade Shinobi, before it got it's own Genesis-era glow-up with white silk sleeveless gi uniforms and Husky companions and what-have-you. If you want a 1980s-vibed arcade game movie, Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja is still right there; if we can crowdfund an airline, surely we can rustle up the Euros to convince Paul Verhoeven to direct it.
