Berserko

Berserko is a cartoon character in the C.O.P.S. (Central Organization of Police Specialists) series from Hasbro which ran from 1988-1989.

Character Profile

Berserko is noted for his gross incompetence and overall stupidity, which leads to repeated arrests by the C.O.P.S. Being the proud nephew of the gangster leader Big Boss, however, his position is more stable than his skills merit. According to the comic adaptation, Berserko is the son of Big Boss' deceased brother who years ago was sent to prison by Bulletproof, where he died. In the cartoon, however, he is the son of Big Boss' unnamed sister which is confirmed in "The Case of Big Boss' Bye Bye", where we see Berserko briefly butting in to greet his mother in front of Beamer, the camera droid during Whitney Morgan's interview with Big Boss, who plans to fake "retirement" in order to force the C.O.P.S. team out of business for good. Far from being less dangerous, Berserko is a punk with short, spiky, blond hair, a blue jacket outdated by decades, white pants with suspenders, a crazy-looking grin, and two huge guns he fires in a trigger-happy manner at any target at will. In the cartoon, his shirt is orange and wordless while in the comics and toys, his shirt is yellow and bears the inscription “BAAD IS GOOD!” in red text. Berserko is a very dangerous crook who talks in a high, squeaky voice and laughs at his own jokes - even if the jokes are not funny - and cause trouble just for fun.

Major Highlights

The Case of The Brilliant Berserko

Berserko’s buffoonery usually brings no comfort to Big Boss, but in this episode, Berserko steals a headband type of a device from the 1990's that gives a player a better chance at winning at chess games. When he puts it on his head, the device render Berserko into a very intelligent person, making Dr. BadVibes very jealous of him. He makes a deal with Big Boss saying that if he captures the C.O.P.S. team, then Big Boss will make him his partner. With that, Berserko lures Hardtop into his hideout with the help of Nightshade, who disguised herself as Whitney Morgan and posing as her being in distress and held captive at an amusement park. Hardtop raced to the park hoping to save Whitney only to be lured into one of Berserko's traps and get captured by "Teddy", Berserko's robotic teddy bear and be forced to watch Berserko's "educational" programs. Berserko plans to use him as a pawn to lure Bulletproof and Longarm, who are investigating the looting of the city's public library, into a trap. Berserko stole the books and horde them in his hideout for him to read and cram everything he reads into his brain. As they investigate the library robbery, suddenly LongArm and Bulletproof dodge out of the way of an oncoming clown missile that blasted inside the precinct and shows to the 2 C.O.P.S. a photo of Berserko and a film projector reel depicting Hardtop in Teddy's clutches. Bulletproof and LongArm race to rescue Hardtop at Berserko's hideout which is an old abandoned amusement park, where he had a bunch of clownish cronies by his side and a huge robotic teddy bear, which he uses for added security, to help him carry out his crooked schemes. Like Hardtop, they, too fall into Berserko's traps and find themselves inside Berserko's hideout. But just as Berserko has Bulletproof and LongArm in his clutches, envious Badvibes arrives to confront him and pulls the machine off Berserko's head. Thus, bringing him back into his old, moronic self again. Bulletproof frees Hardtop by using his cybernetic disks to short circuit Teddy and release Hardtop from his clutches. BadVibes tries to escape but LongArm uses his powercuffs to force him off the Crooks "Jailbird" air vehicle and fall right on top of Berserko's desk. The C.O.P.S. then quickly arrest the two and threw them both into the slammer.

The Case of Berserko's Big Surprise

In this episode, Berserko was sent by Squeeky Kleen to steal some items for Big Boss' surprise birthday party including some party favors, food, and a birthday cake. He is able to do this while escaping from the C.O.P.S. team which are following behind in hot pursuit. Afterwards, Berserko learns of a brand new bridge being dedicated today. Known as The Cornucopia Bridge, this bridge is located right next to Berserko's amusement park hideout where Mayor Davis performed the dedication ceremony, snips the ribbon in half, and open the bridge to the public. Berserko decides to steal the bridge and give it to his uncle as a birthday gift even though Big Boss, after he heard about what Berserko is giving him for his birthday, is none too pleased about it. Big Boss shouts out from an unseen microphone, "BERSERKO, YOU BUMBLING BUFFOON!! BUAOOW!!" But his idiotic nephew assumes he's much happy with this "gift" Berserko is giving him and proceeds to use the world's largest balloon he stole from a party store to haul the bridge up to Big Boss. However, Mirage, disguised as a spy for Big Boss, after Berserko won her trust and allowed her to help with the operations, switched the explosives Berserko is using to loose up the bridge with firecrackers and set it off, causing chaos and scattering the crooks everywhere. Then, Mirage reveals her true self and tries to arrest Berserko. But a light spark from one of the firecrackers covered Berserko's escape. He dived into the water and swam away. He then ran all the way back to Big Boss' penthouse, where Big Boss ungratefully throws the birthday cake at him for his latest buffoonery.

The Case of The Lowest Crime

In this episode, Berserko accidentally injected himself with Addictem's Crystal Twyst while trying to steal a gold statue and had to be rushed to the hospital immediately. Big Boss and his own henchmen arrived to see how Berserko is doing and the results are not good. Big Boss, upset over the matter, got his crooks and himself involve -- of all things -- with the C.O.P.S., who with little reluctance, agree to team up to catch Addictem and end his drug selling days for good. Addictem is eventually chased into the hospital where he was nabbed by Berserko, who made a successful recovery from his drug overdose and taken into justice.