| General Plastro | |
| |
| Nation |  Tan
|
| Affiliation | Tan Republic |
| Status | Alive (Original Timeline, Sarges Heroes)
Deceased (Sarges War) |
| Debut | Army Men |
General Plastro (named the "Tyrannical Tan Commander" in the original Army Men) is the general of the Tan Republic and is typically the main antagonist throughout the Army Men series. He has evolved throughout the series, from a fearsome menace who wields his troops against the Green Nation, to a comical villain who resorts to increasingly desperate plans to defeat his enemies.
Overview[]
General Plastro wishes to seek the total destruction of the Green Nation, or otherwise absorb it into the Tan Republic. Eventually, his plans and schemes lead him into expanding into other nations, and total conquest of their world.
In Games[]
Plastro was initially a nameless threat, but was officially dubbed "The Tan Commander, Plastro" in Army Men II, officially becoming the first Army Men character to have a proper name. In older titles, Plastro would have minimal dialogue and usually only appeared in the opening and ending cinematics.
Army Men Continuity[]
General Plastro made his first appearance in the original Army Men via a sepia colored cutscene, standing behind a podium. The introduction clearly makes Plastro out to be the villain and primary menace behind the Tan threat. However, despite the fact that Plastro is the dictator of the Tan Nation, dubbed the "Reptilian Tan Republic", he receives no other mention or recognition throughout the rest of the game. Plastro is a tall, muscular man wearing a form fitting military styled outfit, and carrying a riding crop. He also has a cigar in his mouth, but it is not lit.
In the real world supervising his soldiers through a mysterious portal, the General observes his surroundings before entering as well. Shortly after he enters, Major Mylar destroys the portal behind him.
Due to the fact Major Mylar is able to easily orchestrate a coup against Plastro potentially suggests that the General is losing his grip and control over his own nation and troops, and is a theme that would be repeated throughout the series.
At the very end of the game, General Plastro witnesses Sarge's victory over Major Mylar. He delivers a monologue about having something special planned for the next time they meet.
Sometime later he seemingly befriends the aliens who crashed in their UFO and sides with them to assault the Green Nation and the Galactic Army.
He is last peering through a crystal ball, becoming enraged over Sarge's victory over the Alien Overlord, and questioning why Sarge always gets in his way.
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes Continuity[]
General Plastro is the main antagonist for Sarge's Heroes, where his role changes significantly. Up until this point, Plastro was a threat that was never really seen, nor was he actually validated as a threat. In Sarge's Heroes, he is seen as a more proactive villain, leading assaults and raids on camps, hatching diabolical plans, and even coming face to face with Sergeant Hawk on several occasions.
However, this sudden increase in screen time and dialogue comes at a steep price in terms of respect. Instead of his slender, muscular build, Plastro has developed a substantial gut, and is relegated to the role of bumbling villain. While many of his schemes and ideas are inherently evil and sadistic, Plastro's bumbling nature and childish behavior keeps him from being a true threat. It is stated that he discovered the portals that lead to the Big World, but how and why he came upon such discoveries are a mystery.
In the game, Plastro's main base of operation is Fort Plastro, a giant log maze fortified with a wall of bug zappers Plastro had found in the Big World. Within the fortress, Plastro has been developing a number of weapons, including giant toy robots with gatling gun arms and flame throwers equipped in their torsos.
At one point in the game, the Tan Army kidnaps Vikki Grimm, whom Plastro is a huge fan of. In what appears to be a bid to keep herself alive, Vikki offers her services to General Plastro, who ably takes her up on it. With Vikki's help, Plastro manages to capture Sergeant Hawk, thereby falling into Vikki's trap to get a hold of Plastro's plans and giving them to the Green Army. As Sarge rescues the other members of Bravo Company, Plastro finds his plans falling apart, and after discovering Vikki's treachery, tries to do away with her.
In a living room, Sarge and Plastro met once again and battled, with Plastro being defeated when a dog entered the room and picked him up. Sarge, thinking he was safe, made it to the bathroom, where Plastro cornered him at the portal and told Sarge "For a minute I knew what it was like to be kibble. Now you'll know what it's like to be bits!" Once again, Plastro was foiled by the dog, and dragged off just as the portal was destroyed, cutting him off from the Plastic World. He was soon Plastered thereafter.
General Plastro (Sarge's Heroes 2)
In General Plastro's absence, Field Marshal Tannenburg stepped in. Either due to low morale because of Plastro's disappearance, or Tannenburg's poor guidance, the Tan forces are losing on all fronts throughout the first half of Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2. Eventually, Sgt. Hawk captures Tannenberg, and a peace treaty was planned to be signed.
Bridgette Bleu manages to recover General Plastro in the Big World, who was still Plastered. She uses her anti-plastrification serum on him, which restores his vitality. Shortly afterwards, Plastro is led to a toy shop, where he brings all of the Toy Robots to life as his elite guard and launches an all-out attack on the peace conference between the Tans and Greens. Once again, he captures Vikki Grimm.
After capturing Vikki, Plastro betrays Bridgette by launching an attack on the Blue Nation, which up until now had been a major ally of the Tans. Despite his treachery, Bridgette still eventually sides and works with Plastro, even aiding in plastering Sarge. After Plastro had captured all of Bravo Company for a second time, Sarge was healed by a passing helicopter that sprayed more serum on him. In the end, Plastro was captured and forced to sign the surrender papers.
Following the events of Sarge's Heroes 2, the army Plastro had build was seemingly taken over by Brigette Bleu. During the events of Portal Runner, however, she ends up ultimately being imprisoned alongside Plastro.
Despite being plastered, and then imprisoned outside of the brief time periods of the two Sarge's Heroes games, Plastro finds the time to appear as a villain in Army Men: Air Combat and Army Men: Air Combat - The Elite Missions, as well as being mentioned as the leader of the Tan during Army Men: Turf Wars. Most likely, Plastro at some point escaped or was broken out of prison at some point after the events of Portal Runner, kicking off the events of these games.
By the time of Army Men: RTS, Plastro goes unmentioned and is a small enough threat to the Green Nation that the entirety of Bravo Company can be diverted to fighting against Colonel Blintz.
Sarge's War Continuity[]
As usual, Plastro is the leader of the Tan in this game. Billing itself as a sequel to the Sarge's Heroes games, General Plastro would launch one final assault on the Green Nation, which once again ended in failure. Plastro seemingly admitted defeat at last, and proceeded to the peace ceremony in Greentown. Unbeknownst to everyone attending, however, Lord Malice had hidden a bomb in a statue meant to symbolize the peace between both nations, which he detonated remotely. The blast incinerated almost everyone in attendance immediately, and as Plastro was standing right next to the statue, he was almost certainly killed as well.
Trivia[]
- The inspiration for General Plastro's appearance appears to be pulled from a collection of stereotypes concerning famous 20th century dictators. His very name, "Plastro", is a play on the name of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro (Although he looks more like Douglas MacArthur with his sunglasses). He is always seen in military attire, and is prone to fits of childish rage when informed that his plans have been foiled or otherwise compromised.
- During Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, General Plastro remarks that he's never met a soldier as stubborn as Sgt. Hawk. Considering Sarge repeatedly foiled his schemes for world domination, this further reinforces the idea that the Sarge's Heroes subseries has a different continuity from the original trilogy.
