Musing on DD characters’ names
Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 9:42 am
Just thinking about where the Double Dragon characters got their names from. Anybody who has any further insights, please share!
We’ll get the obvious stuff out of the way, first: Williams, Roper, Bolo and O’Hara are all named after characters from “Enter the Dragon.”
The source of the Lee brothers’ surname should also be fairly obvious.
___
THE HEROES:
- Billy is probably named after Bruce Lee’s character in “Game of Death”, Billy Lo.
- There is a character named Jimmy, in “Way of the Dragon”. He serves as the Karate instructor to the good guys, and is initially sceptical of the Kung Fu used by Bruce Lee’s character – and a more than a little antagonistic to Lee. I guess the two have a more NES-like relationship.
- Marian is likely named after Maria Yi, who played the damsel in distress, in “The Big Boss”. The “N” on the end of her name might come from Nora Miao (whose name could also be Japlishised into Marian), who was the leading lady in both “Fist of Fury” and “Way of the Dragon”.
The surname “Kelly” probably comes from Jim Kelly, who played Williams in “Enter the Dragon.”
___
THE VILLAINS:
- Linda was probably named after Bruce Lee’s real-life wife, Linda Lee Cadwell.
- Abobo: Okay, unlike the above characters, this is just me going out on a limb. There is no actor or character in any Bruce Lee movie, named Abobo. My theory is that his name is a Japlishisation, of Mr T.’s A-Team character, B.A. Baracus. It’s not a big jump, from BABa, to Abobo, right?
If I am right on that one, it would seem that it was originally the mohawked boss – not the bald sub-boss – who was meant to be Abobo (see this thread).
[For the record, it’s my thinking now – based on that thread and all the merchandise I’m aware of – that both of them are named Abobo, and that Bolo is the name of the long-haired guy in both NES and arcade DD II.]
- Chin Taimei: Also mentioned in that thread was Jonny2x4’s theory that Chin is a Jackie Chan clone. This would account for his family name, but I don’t know where the name “Taimei” might come from. Any ideas?
- Burnov: I know I’m stretching it with this one, but I think his Russian-sounding name was inspired by the villain Petrov, in “Fist of Fury”.
- Abore: I’ve heard that his name is supposed to be an amalgamation of “Abobo” and either “Andre” (the Giant) or “Arnie” (Schwarzenegger). While the latter certainly seems to be the case for his NES appearance, Abore’s arcade incarnation dresses more like Petrov, and has the facial expression of Colt, in “Way of the Dragon” (the villain played by Chuck Norris). Okay, his face could also be Arnie’s, in “The Terminator”.
- As for Willy and Jeff, I just don’t know. Any suggestions?
We’ll get the obvious stuff out of the way, first: Williams, Roper, Bolo and O’Hara are all named after characters from “Enter the Dragon.”
The source of the Lee brothers’ surname should also be fairly obvious.
___
THE HEROES:
- Billy is probably named after Bruce Lee’s character in “Game of Death”, Billy Lo.
- There is a character named Jimmy, in “Way of the Dragon”. He serves as the Karate instructor to the good guys, and is initially sceptical of the Kung Fu used by Bruce Lee’s character – and a more than a little antagonistic to Lee. I guess the two have a more NES-like relationship.
- Marian is likely named after Maria Yi, who played the damsel in distress, in “The Big Boss”. The “N” on the end of her name might come from Nora Miao (whose name could also be Japlishised into Marian), who was the leading lady in both “Fist of Fury” and “Way of the Dragon”.
The surname “Kelly” probably comes from Jim Kelly, who played Williams in “Enter the Dragon.”
___
THE VILLAINS:
- Linda was probably named after Bruce Lee’s real-life wife, Linda Lee Cadwell.
- Abobo: Okay, unlike the above characters, this is just me going out on a limb. There is no actor or character in any Bruce Lee movie, named Abobo. My theory is that his name is a Japlishisation, of Mr T.’s A-Team character, B.A. Baracus. It’s not a big jump, from BABa, to Abobo, right?
If I am right on that one, it would seem that it was originally the mohawked boss – not the bald sub-boss – who was meant to be Abobo (see this thread).
[For the record, it’s my thinking now – based on that thread and all the merchandise I’m aware of – that both of them are named Abobo, and that Bolo is the name of the long-haired guy in both NES and arcade DD II.]
- Chin Taimei: Also mentioned in that thread was Jonny2x4’s theory that Chin is a Jackie Chan clone. This would account for his family name, but I don’t know where the name “Taimei” might come from. Any ideas?
- Burnov: I know I’m stretching it with this one, but I think his Russian-sounding name was inspired by the villain Petrov, in “Fist of Fury”.
- Abore: I’ve heard that his name is supposed to be an amalgamation of “Abobo” and either “Andre” (the Giant) or “Arnie” (Schwarzenegger). While the latter certainly seems to be the case for his NES appearance, Abore’s arcade incarnation dresses more like Petrov, and has the facial expression of Colt, in “Way of the Dragon” (the villain played by Chuck Norris). Okay, his face could also be Arnie’s, in “The Terminator”.
- As for Willy and Jeff, I just don’t know. Any suggestions?