Hunter (character)

WBToonChar
name =Hunter


image caption =Hunter in his Cano-sapien form.
first appearance = "Let's Hit The Road", 7 September 1996
catchphrases = "I would not have predicted this" "Yet another unexpected twist"
created by =Tom Ruegger
voiced by =Jess Harnell
known friends = Colleen, Blitz, Exile, Shag, Muzzle, Professor William F. Shepherd
known rivals = General Parvo, The Groomer, Zachary Storm, Gustav Havoc, Donovan Bell

Hunter (voiced by Jess Harnell) is a fictional anthropomorphic dog from the action/comedy cartoon "Road Rovers" that premiered in September 1996 on Kids' WB. He is portrayed as the leader of the rovers. Hunter is a Golden Retriever mix from the United States, born somewhere in Wyoming. Even before he was a Road Rover, he befriended Muzzle, a "rabid" Rottweiler, in the back of a Los Angeles animal control van, and defended him when a bunch of other dogs were ready to bully him. No one really knows how Hunter ended up in Los Angeles. Later he was chosen by Professor Shepherd, otherwise known as "The Master", to join the Road Rovers.

Personality

50% retriever, 25% bloodhound, 15% pointer, and 10% spaniel, Hunter is a 100% nice guy. Out of all the Rovers, Hunter is probably the least likely to draw negative criticism from parents. Apart from his slow-wittedness (some fans debate whether or not this is a facade), he is good-hearted, loyal, constantly energetic, and honorable to the point that he would probably risk his life to save his worst enemy. The question of his intelligence has been a matter of minor debate, with some pointing out that he often behaves in a slow-witted manner while others point to several occasions when he very easily outwitted Blitz. Viewers from both sides, however, agree that outwitting Blitz is no difficult task to achieve.Despite his habit of cracking corny jokes or appearing slow-witted at times, whenever he must lead the team he is level-headed, serious, brave, quick-thinking, courageous, and willing to accept or ask for help (such as in Take Me To Your Leader') and thanks people who do help him (as seen in 'Gold and Retrievers') which makes him without a doubt the best one to lead.

Powers

He claims to have many super powers such as: super playful, super loyal, super trusting, super friendly, super forgiving, super "super" lucky, super patient and super generous. But his main power is his super speed, which leaves a trail of fire behind him - probably an indication that there is also a sighthound among his ancestors, although this is never mentioned. Unlike most super-fast heroes, this power is seldom if ever used for such tasks as throwing punches. Whereas heroes like The Flash tend to be fast in every part of their bodies, Hunter's speed appears to be limited to his feet.

Hunter also has a keener sense of smell than his fellow Rovers, presumably owing to his bloodhound ancestry.

Relationship with Colleen

There have been hints of a relationship between Hunter and Colleen. Colleen shows attraction to Hunter (or "Huntie," or "Huntie-Wuntie," as she calls him) in just about every episode. Hunter has shown some attraction to her as well, in the form of an occasional remark and a frequent tendency to pair up with her in any two-person vehicle. Additionally, there is the fact that the opening sequence shows him planting a "wet one" on Colleen's cheek, much to Colleen's clearly visible delight. They are also the two Rovers that seem to have the most in common. Such as they were both strays with no master (Muzzle had Professor Shepard), they both seem to take the missions the most seriously in the group as seen in 'A Day In The Life' and 'Take Me To Your Leader'. Despite these indications, many viewers insist that the relationship is "one-sided," maintaining that Hunter is oblivious to Colleen's feelings for him. In any event, they are for the most part strictly business.

The other Road Rovers know about Colleen's feelings, with the result that they wasted no time in teasing her about it when they caught Hunter trying to track down an unidentified female dog. Not surprisingly to most viewers, Blitz was exceptionally merciless. Colleen had the last laugh (or rather sigh of relief), as it turned out the dog in question was not a past girlfriend. Hunter just wanted to drop in and say hi to his mom. However, Blitz mentioned to Hunter the reason Colleen was so upset is she thought he has a "new" girlfriend, and that he was dumping her. This suggests that they might have indeed paired up, if only offscreen or between episodes. This is the only known case where Hunter actually hurt Colleen's feelings. Usually, he just doesn't understand. In one instance, after a mission, Colleen suggested a walk on the beach. Hunter eagerly agreed, and in the next shot Colleen was taking Hunter for a waterside stroll. However, Hunter was in his usual canine mode at the end of a leash held by Colleen, who complained, "This wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Family

Hunter is the only Road Rover with any known relatives. In "A Day In The Life", he paid a visit to his mother on the Wyoming farm where, evidently, Hunter was born and raised. He had gone to considerable effort to track her down and, in so doing, inadvertenty ended up in a position to save his fellow Road Rovers from otherwise certain doom. All that is known about her is that Hunter had not seen her since he was eight weeks old.

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