Big Boss (C.O.P.S.)

Big Boss and Scratch are cartoon characters in the C.O.P.S. (Central Organization of Police Specialists) series from Hasbro which ran from 1988-1989.

Character Profiles

Brandon "Big Boss" Babel

Big Boss is Empire City's worst nightmare. He's Empire City's most nefarious of all criminals and the mastermind behind the Crooks organization that's made up entirely of professional burglars, muggers, and thieves. Big Boss, however, will not tolerate illegal drugs and used his influence to keep them out of Empire City (unknown to the authorities, though). He rules the criminal world with a literal iron fist, using his cybernetic left hand to smash things when enraged, especially his desk (in the comic adaptation). He talks like Edward G. Robinson, nearly always uttering a soft spoken 'mahh' as he speaks to himself, his thugs, foes, or anyone else. In the toy series as well as once in the episode "The Case of C.O.P.S. File #1", he is seen carrying a strange cane he uses as a rifle weapon. Surprisingly fast and agile despite being a grossly obese 350 pound man, Big Boss makes sure that no criminal caper goes on without him knowing about it and giving his approval. He's also never without his personal yes-man named Squeeky Kleen, who serves Big Boss hand and foot. He is seen with three moles on the upper left hand corner of his forehead and a white suit with about four police badges on them that he uses as trophies after he brought down four police officers, who foolishly dared to challenge him to battle and lost.

In the comic series, Big Boss has a personal grudge against Bulletproof for sending his twin brother, the Crime Boss of New York City, to prison. Big Boss's brother later died in confinement - thus nephew Berserko (his brother's son in the comics) ended up under his care, much to Big Boss's constant annoyance.

Big Boss shares similarities with such other criminal villains as Lex Luthor, the Kingpin and Rupert Thorne, with one exception - he is never shown to be involved in any legitimate business practices. It is assumed all his wealth comes from crime.

cratch

Big Boss is never without Scratch who keeps him company everywhere he goes at all times. Scratch is Big Boss' pet weasel, who (in the cartoon) has large eyes, metal paws, and a cybernetic body armor that bears no spikes on his back, while the toy and comic adaptations depicts him to have spines on his back and a less cartoonish look. He is known to jump when easily startled by Big Boss' iron fist which he pounds right next to him on the desk to make his point across. One time he's seen with a jet pack placed on him in "The Case of the Prison Break-in" by Big Boss who sent him to deliver the de-controller to Rock Krusher who plans to use it to imprison the prison guards and take over Graystone Prison.

Major Highlights

The Case of The Spotless Kingpin

Big Boss hates to get his suit dirty. In this episode, Big Boss, fed up with getting stains splattered all over his favorite suit, orders a new stain resistant suit made to completely resist dirt. But, when Bowser, Blitz, and Highway came to take down Berserko, Rock Krusher, and Squeeky Kleen for stealing chemicals from an experimental laboratory, Berserko witlessly threw the suit at the COPS causing the chemicals inside the suit stolen to get screwed up, causing the suit to act as a big magnet, attracting all the dirt directly at Big Boss.

Big Boss, very enraged, ordered his crooks to fix up a formula that could reverse the effects of the ill-fated suit and get the dirt away from him. Squeeky had to have Dr. BadVibes make out the formula hoping that would cure him of this dirty predicament. Later, Squeeky was able to escape from the C.O.P.S. and raced back to Big Boss at his penthouse with the formula and, at his order, splashed the formula on him. The viewer then saw the dirt get dissolved away - and the suit too, revealing Big Boss' pig trousers, a white sweatshirt, and one angry Big Boss chasing after Squeeky Kleen.

The Case of The Visiting Mother

Big Momma paid her son, Big Boss a visit in Empire City to accompany him to an auction brought on by Commissioner Highwaters to raise money for charity. The auction is selling items Big Boss wanted his crooks to steal. But Big Boss had to struggle to be good and generous in front of his momma while hiding his real agenda, even though it was pretty difficult thing to do for a kingpin such as The Big Boss. He even had to hide his true colors from her by pretending to run an orphanage at an abandoned warehouse with his crooks posing as "orphans".

The Case of The Crime Convention

Big Boss is a very greedy, selfish man who took all the glory for himself in this episode when he awarded the Crook of the Year Trophy to himself after Buttons McBoomBoom and Berserko duked it out with each other to see who should be voted Crook of the Year.

The Case of The Super Shakedown

Big Boss wishes to make all of Empire City his own and will do whatever it takes to do it, whether that is taking the President of the United States hostage in "The Case of The Big Boss' Master Plan" or, in this episode, using The Ground Shaker to level the city to the ground, destroying it, unless all of his demands are met. But thanks to the C.O.P.S., the machine is destroyed, Empire City is on solid ground once again, and Big Boss' penthouse is flooded with Big Boss and Squeeky Kleen inside trying to make a getaway before the now non-existent earthquake, hits the city.

The Case of Big Boss' Bye Bye

Sometimes Big Boss likes to take advantage of the city's problems and uses it to his own advantage. In this episode, Empire City has lots of financial troubles and Mayor Davis has declared that all unnecessary employment in Empire City must be eliminated. Bulletproof had to assure the C.O.P.S team that the C.O.P.S. organization is not one of those unnecessary employment areas. However, Big Boss made C.O.P.S. to be one of them by faking retirement and took off to a tropical island hideaway, anticipating the C.O.P.S. to be given the pink slip. Afterwards, Big Boss returns to pull a heist on the Empire Central Railroad train that's coming to Empire City to deliver relief funds to the city, which was successfully thwarted by Bulletproof, Mainframe, and Mace, who all got their jobs back afterwards.

The Case of the Lowest Crime

For all of his faults, however, Big Boss has one good virtuous point: his zero tolerance of illegal drugs. He refuses to deal in them and has used his influences to keep them out of Empire City (Although, the legal authorities are unaware of this.). He clearly proved it when Addictem came to ask if he can join his crooked empire to help further his drug selling business. When shown of the product, Big Boss smashes it with his iron hand and told Addictem flat out that he's not welcome in his criminal empire and orders Buttons to throw him out. Later, Berserko, Buttons, and Rock Krusher heads to the storage dock where a large blimp is delivering a priceless gold statue from South America to Empire City. Big Boss wanted the crooks to steal the statue. So Berserko, Buttons, and Rock Krusher head to the dock and dispatches the guards with sleeping gas. Then, they climbed up a stack of crates to steal the statue inside the top crate, unaware that Addictem and his 2 henchmen has come by to pick up a cache of Crystal Twyst they smuggled into Empire City. But they hadn't count on Berserko making a slip-up and fall right into the crate full of Crystal Twyst that absorbs right into his body, forcing him into a coma. Berserko is rushed into the hospital where 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, is shown by the hospital nurse to another person lying ill in bed, also heavily affected by Addictem's drug product. This prompted Big Boss to get 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. The chase was on with Blitz teaming up with Buzzbomb, Rock Krusher with LongArm, Buttons with Mace, Nightshade with Bullseye, and Bulletproof and Big Boss at the terminal urging the 2 teams on. Addictem is chased into the hospital where he was caught by Blitz who grabbed by the arm. However, this doesn't stop him from grabbing the hospital nurse and use her as a human shield in an effort to prevent LongArm from pointing his gun at him. But, he hadn't counted on Berserko, who made a successful recovery from his drug overdose, to nab him from behind, letting the nurse go. Thus, the drug lord is finally caught and sent to the 647th precinct, where Mainframe delivers a report of another crime being in progress. This time by the usual crooked bunch who returned back to their thieving ways just after Addictem is caught.

C.O.P.S. For Kids

As was common with cartoons of the 1980s, each of the COPS episodes ended with an educational epilogue segment entitled "C.O.P.S. for Kids", where a Crime Prevention or Safety tip is given by one of the characters of the show. In an unusual move, one of these segments was hosted by Big Boss, who along with Squeeky, discussed the danger of flashing your money around. This is unusual as villainous characters are normally restricted from this duty in a children's show unless they are cast in the role of the "bad example".

External Links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxQ0jOd7pQo The Case of The Visiting Mother part 1] from YouTube
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYRYtiPpxSs The Case of The Visiting Mother part 2] from YouTube
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92rex-3ETtc The Case of Big Boss' Bye Bye Part 1] from YouTube
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfuZPTT8BYw The Case of Big Boss' Bye Bye Part 2] from YouTube