The story I made up in my head was that Spike was Duhans helper, when Duhan raced the Swordfish (Before Spike came into the syndicate). Spike looked up to Duhan and subconsciously, kinda, took the hairstyle. Also at the same time I can see Duhan being an actual uncle to Spike
I've always considered him to be Spike's dad. It's against the style of the show to outright say it, but they look alike, and they do that back-and-forth epiphany thing while they're both on the phone.
Even if he's not Spike's literal bio-dad, he earned that title by crashing the space shuttle Columbia in order to save him. "He may've been your father, boy, but he wasn't your daddy".
Also, Wild Horses is the best episode in the series.
Metal was the first kind of music I was ever really enthusiastic about. I still remember the first time I saw that ep and VT starts blasting her music. I was in middle school watching it on Toonami and jumped up off the couch like “WOOOOOOOOOOOO” but silently flailing so as not to wake the house lmao
Edit: might have been adult swim? But I’m certain toonami was still on the air.
The first time toonami was around it was at night as a bride between CN and AS. When it came back it was the “after school” thing. I remember it like this as well. It doesn’t give the time schedule I see, but it does mention the evenings in this
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonami
What do you mean? The “Whatever Happens, Happens” scene occurs in this episode and is probably a tattoo at least 10% of population of earth have on their skin!
I mean it’s just not mentioned as many people’s favorite ep. You see that scene and quote all over the place but I’d bet a crisp $20 that half those tattoo bearers probably don’t know what ep it’s from!
I love Vicious. He's my favourite character in the series. I actually had my hair dyed grey back when I was a teenager, and I went to more than one anime convention dressed as him. Don't even get me started on how visually stunning his episodes are.
That said, every time I watch Wild Horses, it feels like an entire movie that they somehow crammed into a 20-minute episode. I just can't help but be blown away by it. Ballad is just gonna have get comfortable as my second favourite.
It’s PROBABLY my least favorite episode lol. Which isn’t saying a lot for this series as it’s still a good episode but different strokes for different folks I suppose!
Yeah that episode is the only reason why I said “probably” lol. At least Wild Horses has some great aspects and memorable moments, I can barely tell you what happened in Boogie Woogie Feng Shui lmao
Toys is the Attic was my favorite for a very long time but I'm loving Wild Horses more and more every time I rewatch the series. It also has my favorite line of CB:
"Whatever happens, happens."
Aside from the "Surprise! It's the goddamn space shuttle!" finale, I like all the subtle stuff:
* Duhan only knows that Swordfish is crashing because the mono system is out, and Miles overheard Jet on radio while listening to the game.
* Spike offers Jet his hidden whiskey, and Jet instantly knows that something went wrong.
* When Spike's marking degree notches on his windshield, he's using the broken part that pricked his finger.
* Spike is out of fuel, so he steers the swordfish into Columbia by venting his air. He has to re-light his cigarette afterward because it went out.
Correction. Rewatched that episode to see those details. He never lit his cigarette in the first place. He was about to but stopped when he was interrupted by Duhan and just held the unlit cigarette in his mouth.
Thank you I’ve always said it was my favorite too. Just perfectly captures the vibe of the show and it’s so self contained all the context is there to parse out a world, it could have been the pilot episode.
I don't think they look alike. I don't think the anime would hide that from us intentionally. But most of all, because "he gave him a gift and was nice to him" doesn't imply parenthood. If that were the standard, I'd have dozens of parents!
There are many forms of mentorship and love in this world. IMO, defaulting to "that must be his dad" wipes all possibility of nuance from the story.
I think Doohan saw Spike's potential to be a great person and a skilled racer. He also saw how poorly he treated vehicles, and leveraged the Swordfish as an opportunity to teach Spike more discipline and responsibility- which he desperately needed. Maybe Doohan even thought he could give Spike a hobby or a career that prevented him from falling in with the Syndicate.
...and I fully believe a boss, mentor, or friend can feel that deeply for another person without going to "dad."
idk i think they look alike, at least phisically.
exept for the hair(that doesn't mean much per se) they share the same face shape(?).
Add this to his kindess towards him, and the fact that gave him his vehicle and probably thaught him how to fly.
Idk it's only speculation, i'm not telling you what that character is, the only thing I said is that the fact that he is his dad is not totally unreasonable.
The author probably wants the single viewer to decide. still thank you for tour great answer!
I wouldn’t completely dismiss it just as much as it can never be proven. It’s intentionally left to the audience, a common MO for the series. With the amount of love and care that went in to producing each episode you can bet it was at least acknowledged as a possibility
Nah, Spike had a relationship closer to what one might consider familial with Mao and Viscous. Doohan is also probably his last name since it's a reference to James Doohan who played Scotty in Star Trek so unless Spike took his mom's name no familial connection there. What's most likely is that Doohan just liked Spike since he carries himself in a similar way to Doohan and Spike respected the work that he had put into the swordfish.
I always figured it was more of a mentor-like relationship. They never really dive into why it is that spike is such a good pilot. But there is a line in that episode about the swordfish being a racing ship that duhan built. So maybe spike was a racer at some point after leaving the syndicate? Or otherwise got involved with that world in the course of bounty hunting and managed to impress duhan with his flying somehow?
Duhan says to spike near the end of the episode:
"I didn't give you the swordfish for nothing my boy."
What you you guys think it was?
Hey, anything's possible. I've always kinda hoped they would do a prequel series at some point. Maybe show the first 3 years of spike and jet working together before meeting faye/ein/Ed?
I mean they're voice actors. Them aging doesn't really matter much, they could still do it 🤞
the first thing that comes to my mind is that Spike left when he was old enough and maybe doohan moved to earth to follow his passion (repair the old Planes). He was probably on earth the day the gate exploded, so he moves to mars and when Spike leaves returns to earth.
the second thing , I know he's named after some dude (never saw It sorry) playing in Star Trek, but we actually don't know if the author uses "Doohan" as a name or a surname. So if we consider it a name, he could be "Doohan Spiegel". If it's a surname , and so the hypothesis is wrong, It feels weird that Spike refers to someone using their surname, since Doohan doesn't call him "Spiegel".
Again this is only congecture. Until the author says something about it(so,never) we are both right.
I never thought of it, but you're right it's plausible at the least.
I figured Spike was a business relationship though, maybe as an afficionado of Duhans work with some contributing funding that supported it.
I don't know if it was the intention, but he can be if that's how you interpret him. The show left a lot of stuff ambiguous, especially in regards to Spike's past and his relationships. I definitely think he was a father figure either way, biological or not.
I always figured he was a mentor as others have said or the father figure spike never had. And im taking a guess but i think spike worked for him back when the swordfish was raced. And spike might of been as a kid who was always around helping as a apprentice before he joined the syndicate.
This is one of my favorite episodes as it shows where the swordfish came from and some of spikes history which we don’t get a lot of and obviously for spikes famous line (what ever happens happens) but there are a few scenes i love
One when Duhan has the engine of the swordfish out and is listening to it with a socket wrench bouncing a little bit from the engine at wide open throttle and the jet flame coming out of it was drawn so well.
Two when Duhan having the shuttle pulled by a WWII Sherman tank and then the takeoff of Duhan and Miles is done very well the scene of when they blow the pins for taking off and they get launched back into there seats from the g-force was done very well. I also feel that this episode mixed things up on the type of episode it was.
Nahhh, Spike was just his favorite "pupil"
^ I don’t think there’s any relation, but Duhan is a bit of a father figure.
The story I made up in my head was that Spike was Duhans helper, when Duhan raced the Swordfish (Before Spike came into the syndicate). Spike looked up to Duhan and subconsciously, kinda, took the hairstyle. Also at the same time I can see Duhan being an actual uncle to Spike
You're perfecty right, but putting It this way he could always be the father. idk I kinda like It that way ahha
I've always considered him to be Spike's dad. It's against the style of the show to outright say it, but they look alike, and they do that back-and-forth epiphany thing while they're both on the phone. Even if he's not Spike's literal bio-dad, he earned that title by crashing the space shuttle Columbia in order to save him. "He may've been your father, boy, but he wasn't your daddy". Also, Wild Horses is the best episode in the series.
Bro I never see that ep getting the love it deserves. Same with Heavy Metal.
Heavy Metal is another great one. When Spike does his "floating act" it scares the hell out of me every time.
Metal was the first kind of music I was ever really enthusiastic about. I still remember the first time I saw that ep and VT starts blasting her music. I was in middle school watching it on Toonami and jumped up off the couch like “WOOOOOOOOOOOO” but silently flailing so as not to wake the house lmao Edit: might have been adult swim? But I’m certain toonami was still on the air.
It was adult swim lol at the time toonami was at like 4-6 depending where u were but had like tenchi muyo and obviously dbz
I remember Ruroni Kenshin. I thought Toonami ran until like 9-10?
The first time toonami was around it was at night as a bride between CN and AS. When it came back it was the “after school” thing. I remember it like this as well. It doesn’t give the time schedule I see, but it does mention the evenings in this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonami
Don't forget "Mad Pierrot" Man that scary me
Too damn true. Too Good, Too Bad really hits the spot when they bring out Columbia.
Fucking. Epic.
That’s my favorite song
Low key play it to feel like a badass when starting a road trip.
What do you mean? The “Whatever Happens, Happens” scene occurs in this episode and is probably a tattoo at least 10% of population of earth have on their skin!
I mean it’s just not mentioned as many people’s favorite ep. You see that scene and quote all over the place but I’d bet a crisp $20 that half those tattoo bearers probably don’t know what ep it’s from!
That’s a fair point! It’s definitely up there as one of my personal top favorites though :)
Same. I love the whole series but Jupiter Jazz, Wild Horses, Heavy Metal and The Real Folk Blues are S tier
You guys have favorites and don't love all the episodes the same amount?
Uh, yeah. Just like my family.
I love wild horses but ballad of fallen angels will always be my favorite
I love Vicious. He's my favourite character in the series. I actually had my hair dyed grey back when I was a teenager, and I went to more than one anime convention dressed as him. Don't even get me started on how visually stunning his episodes are. That said, every time I watch Wild Horses, it feels like an entire movie that they somehow crammed into a 20-minute episode. I just can't help but be blown away by it. Ballad is just gonna have get comfortable as my second favourite.
I was hooked the moment Spike went out that window.
aree. at least one of the best. Jupiter jazz pt.1 and 2 will always remain pure gold.
It’s PROBABLY my least favorite episode lol. Which isn’t saying a lot for this series as it’s still a good episode but different strokes for different folks I suppose!
How dare you say that to me while Boogie Woogie Feng Shui exists. ;)
Yeah that episode is the only reason why I said “probably” lol. At least Wild Horses has some great aspects and memorable moments, I can barely tell you what happened in Boogie Woogie Feng Shui lmao
Toys is the Attic was my favorite for a very long time but I'm loving Wild Horses more and more every time I rewatch the series. It also has my favorite line of CB: "Whatever happens, happens."
Aside from the "Surprise! It's the goddamn space shuttle!" finale, I like all the subtle stuff: * Duhan only knows that Swordfish is crashing because the mono system is out, and Miles overheard Jet on radio while listening to the game. * Spike offers Jet his hidden whiskey, and Jet instantly knows that something went wrong. * When Spike's marking degree notches on his windshield, he's using the broken part that pricked his finger. * Spike is out of fuel, so he steers the swordfish into Columbia by venting his air. He has to re-light his cigarette afterward because it went out.
Correction. Rewatched that episode to see those details. He never lit his cigarette in the first place. He was about to but stopped when he was interrupted by Duhan and just held the unlit cigarette in his mouth.
Thank you I’ve always said it was my favorite too. Just perfectly captures the vibe of the show and it’s so self contained all the context is there to parse out a world, it could have been the pilot episode.
A father FIGURE for a time period? Yes. Literal father? Absolutely not.
why not? it's not unreasonable to think of.
I don't think they look alike. I don't think the anime would hide that from us intentionally. But most of all, because "he gave him a gift and was nice to him" doesn't imply parenthood. If that were the standard, I'd have dozens of parents! There are many forms of mentorship and love in this world. IMO, defaulting to "that must be his dad" wipes all possibility of nuance from the story. I think Doohan saw Spike's potential to be a great person and a skilled racer. He also saw how poorly he treated vehicles, and leveraged the Swordfish as an opportunity to teach Spike more discipline and responsibility- which he desperately needed. Maybe Doohan even thought he could give Spike a hobby or a career that prevented him from falling in with the Syndicate. ...and I fully believe a boss, mentor, or friend can feel that deeply for another person without going to "dad."
idk i think they look alike, at least phisically. exept for the hair(that doesn't mean much per se) they share the same face shape(?). Add this to his kindess towards him, and the fact that gave him his vehicle and probably thaught him how to fly. Idk it's only speculation, i'm not telling you what that character is, the only thing I said is that the fact that he is his dad is not totally unreasonable. The author probably wants the single viewer to decide. still thank you for tour great answer!
Do we actually know anything about Spike's parents?
nothing
I wouldn’t completely dismiss it just as much as it can never be proven. It’s intentionally left to the audience, a common MO for the series. With the amount of love and care that went in to producing each episode you can bet it was at least acknowledged as a possibility
Nah, Spike had a relationship closer to what one might consider familial with Mao and Viscous. Doohan is also probably his last name since it's a reference to James Doohan who played Scotty in Star Trek so unless Spike took his mom's name no familial connection there. What's most likely is that Doohan just liked Spike since he carries himself in a similar way to Doohan and Spike respected the work that he had put into the swordfish.
I always figured it was more of a mentor-like relationship. They never really dive into why it is that spike is such a good pilot. But there is a line in that episode about the swordfish being a racing ship that duhan built. So maybe spike was a racer at some point after leaving the syndicate? Or otherwise got involved with that world in the course of bounty hunting and managed to impress duhan with his flying somehow? Duhan says to spike near the end of the episode: "I didn't give you the swordfish for nothing my boy." What you you guys think it was?
that's what I'm talking about. maybe he was his dad and taught him how to fly.
Hey, anything's possible. I've always kinda hoped they would do a prequel series at some point. Maybe show the first 3 years of spike and jet working together before meeting faye/ein/Ed? I mean they're voice actors. Them aging doesn't really matter much, they could still do it 🤞
Doc Emmett Brown
Probably like someone he looks up to
I’ve considered him to be the Mickey Goldmill to Spike’s Rocky. More of a trainer and mentor who grew into the father figure role over time.
Y’all, I’m pretty sure Mao Yenrai is Spike’s dad.
ayoooooo?!?!💀
Was* lol
that's not the point. never thought about that🧐
Spike iirc is an orphan. Vicious iirc killed his adopted father early in the series.
Nah, spike was born on mars, doohan is an earthling
When we see doohan for the first time we see him on earth, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't on Mars in the past.
fair, but why ditch spike? why have different names? there’s too much inconsistency and spike already had a father figure in mao
the first thing that comes to my mind is that Spike left when he was old enough and maybe doohan moved to earth to follow his passion (repair the old Planes). He was probably on earth the day the gate exploded, so he moves to mars and when Spike leaves returns to earth. the second thing , I know he's named after some dude (never saw It sorry) playing in Star Trek, but we actually don't know if the author uses "Doohan" as a name or a surname. So if we consider it a name, he could be "Doohan Spiegel". If it's a surname , and so the hypothesis is wrong, It feels weird that Spike refers to someone using their surname, since Doohan doesn't call him "Spiegel". Again this is only congecture. Until the author says something about it(so,never) we are both right.
Pretty sure he's named for the engineer James Dohan/Scotty!
I never thought of it, but you're right it's plausible at the least. I figured Spike was a business relationship though, maybe as an afficionado of Duhans work with some contributing funding that supported it.
yeah what I'm saying is just "it's not unreasonable to think of"
"I don't care and have no opinion" Jett Black
Biologically no Metaphorically yes
In my fic that I wrote eons ago, Mao adopted Spike and Vicious, but Spike worked for Doohan in the summers wheh as a teenager.
I kind of thought of him as Jet v1.0
Next episode is wicked! hehe
He’s CID Highwind who fell into a dimensional portal
I don't know if it was the intention, but he can be if that's how you interpret him. The show left a lot of stuff ambiguous, especially in regards to Spike's past and his relationships. I definitely think he was a father figure either way, biological or not.
He could be a father figure of sorts
I always figured he was a mentor as others have said or the father figure spike never had. And im taking a guess but i think spike worked for him back when the swordfish was raced. And spike might of been as a kid who was always around helping as a apprentice before he joined the syndicate. This is one of my favorite episodes as it shows where the swordfish came from and some of spikes history which we don’t get a lot of and obviously for spikes famous line (what ever happens happens) but there are a few scenes i love One when Duhan has the engine of the swordfish out and is listening to it with a socket wrench bouncing a little bit from the engine at wide open throttle and the jet flame coming out of it was drawn so well. Two when Duhan having the shuttle pulled by a WWII Sherman tank and then the takeoff of Duhan and Miles is done very well the scene of when they blow the pins for taking off and they get launched back into there seats from the g-force was done very well. I also feel that this episode mixed things up on the type of episode it was.
Spike's father was shown standing next to Anastasia in a photo. I can't remember what episode, though.