Captain Marcus Snow (マーカススノー Mākasu Sunō), callsign "Swordsman", was an Osean Maritime Defense Force pilot, captain, and flight leader of VFA-206, the fighter squadron stationed aboard the OFS Kestrel. After the events of Operation Keynote on December 9, 2010, Snow joined the newly formed Razgriz Squadron, with which he served until the end of the Circum-Pacific War.
Snow was a no-nonsense, battle-hardened officer. As a flight leader, Snow recognized the danger borne from hesitation during combat and was fiercely protective of his subordinates. Although he was the oldest of the Razgriz pilots, Snow shared his knowledge and experience with his new wingmen, and later thanked Blaze for allowing him to re-experience flying without the burden of command.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Snow was born in the Osean Federation in 1976.[4] He eventually enlisted in the Osean Maritime Defense Force and was assigned to the naval air force. Snow was only 19 when the Belkan War broke out in 1995; it is unclear if he served in the war. At some point, however, Snow was promoted to Captain and assigned to the Kestrel. After his promotion, he was placed in command of the Kestrel's carrier air wing, VFA-206.
Circum-Pacific War[]
Early engagements[]
On September 27, 2010, Snow was aboard the Kestrel, which was docked at the naval port of St. Hewlett. At approximately 1433hrs, Yuktobanian aircraft launched a surprise air raid on the port. Snow and his wingmen scrambled to their fighters, and the Kestrel launched them into the air to defend the fleet. Snow was soon joined by the Wardog Squadron rookies, whom Snow yelled at to quit dallying and take action. When AWACS Thunderhead assigned Wardog to protect the Kestrel, Snow voiced his displeasure, believing his squadron should be responsible for protecting the carrier. Due to the combined efforts of VFA-206 and Wardog, the Kestrel successfully escaped into open waters.[5]
Three days later, the Kestrel rendezvoused with the 3rd Naval Fleet's two other carriers, the Vulture and Buzzard, at the Eaglin Straits to begin mounting a counterattack. During the operation, Snow and Wardog engaged the Yuktobanian fighters that attacked the fleet. Snow survived the first burst-missile volley from the Yuktobanian submersible carrier Scinfaxi and reported that everything below 5,000 feet had been "annihilated". Snow and Wardog survived the second volley by assuming an altitude greater than 5,000 feet. In the aftermath, Snow remained to protect the Kestrel while Wardog departed for Heierlark Air Force Base to refuel.[6]
As the war progressed, Snow was deployed to various battlefields with his unit; however, fewer pilots returned with each new sortie until only Snow remained. Without adequate airmen to pilot its planes, the Kestrel was placed in reserve and stationed at Kirwin Island in the Arctic Ocean.[7]
The Razgriz[]
Captain Snow inspects his F-14A Tomcat on the flight deck of the OFS Kestrel
On December 7, Snow was ordered by the Kestrel's commanding officer, Captain Nicholas A. Andersen, to rescue the Wardog pilots, who had been accused of espionage. Snow set out to locate the fugitives and, after overhearing the 8492nd Squadron's reports of pursuing them, set a course for the Solo Islands. Upon intercept, Snow flew past Wardog and sent them a message using his F-14A's signal light, telling them to "trust [him and] bail out." Snow then proceeded to shoot down each aircraft moments after the occupants ejected. Thunderhead confirmed each "kill" on radar, and Snow completed the ruse by demanding a medal for his actions.[8] All of the Wardog pilots were subsequently recorded as "Killed in Action" in official OADF records.[9]
Two days later, he accompanied Wardog and rescued President Vincent Harling from Belkan captivity in Stier Castle. Following Harling's return to the Kestrel, Snow and the rest of the Wardog pilots were placed under the direct command of the president and renamed Razgriz Squadron.[10] Over the coming weeks, Snow helped eliminate the nuclear warheads that the Grey Men planned to use on Osea and Yuktobania, destroyed the Arkbird over the Ceres Ocean, and supported the effort to free the Yuktobanian Prime Minister from his imprisonment in northern Yuktobania.
On December 29, Snow defended the Kestrel one last time against two hostile fleets of Yuktobanian and Osean warships.[11] Later that evening, Snow participated in the Battle of Sudentor, which resulted in the destruction of Gründer Industries' tunnel network beneath the Waldreich Mountains and the SOLG control facilities within it.[12] The following morning, Snow and his fellow Razgriz pilots engaged and shot down the Belkan aggressor squadrons over Oured Bay before destroying the falling SOLG before it could annihilate Oured.[13]
Postwar[]
After the Circum-Pacific War, Snow was discharged from the Navy, eventually joining a sea-salvage company that assisted in locating the wreckage of the Kestrel. After discovering the ship's remains, he contacted and visited the retired Admiral Andersen to offer him a ride down to the ship's location. Upon accepting, Snow piloted the submersible to the carrier.[14]
Etymology[]
Snow's callsign, Swordsman, is a probable reference to the United States Navy fighter squadron VFA-32 (nicknamed the "Flying Swordsmen") that flew F-14s during the Gulf War.
His callsign may also refer to lines 3 and 4 from the second stanza in the Razgriz poem, “Until men united wield a hallowed sabre, In final reckoning, the beast is slain." During the final moments of Final Option, Snow symbolically "slays" the Razgriz by assisting the Wardogs in their escape from Sand Island and the Grabacr Squadron by faking their destruction.
Gallery[]
Snow's OMDF profile
Snow's #211 F-14A with other airframes of Wardog Squadron, strangely #211 also got Wardog emblem on the tail instead of the VFA-206 emblem
Trivia[]
- OMDF seems to have same ranking titles as OADF. In the Japanese version, Snow's rank is "Tai-ai(大尉)", which is the same word as the Air Force Captain (NATO OF-2 equivalent)[15], while the Japanese word corresponding to Naval Captain is "Kai-sa(海佐)". On the other hand, there is no information suggesting OMDF uses different titles to OADF like real-life US Navy titles that are different to US Air Force (e.g. a USN Captain is OF-5, equivalent to USAF Colonel, while USAF Captain is OF-2).
- Both Snow and A World With No Boundaries member Anthony Palmer are voiced by Beau Billingslea.
- Captain Snow's appearance is most likely based on American actor Denzel Washington. Washington has portrayed military men in actuality, most notably as British Army paratrooper Lance Corporal (LCpl) Reuben James in the 1988 action film For Queen and Country as well as US Navy psychiatrist Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Jerome Davenport in the 2002 drama Antwone Fisher. Another possible inspiration for Snow's character is Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Marcus "Sundown" Williams, an F-14 RIO (portrayed by Clarence Gilyard Jr. in Top Gun) chastised by Tom Cruise's Maverick out of sheer annoyance about not pulling the trigger during a training mission.
References[]
- ↑ F-14A -R3 Swordsman-
Hangar description.
- ↑ F-14A Tomcat `Ace Combat Wardog Squadron` (Plastic model) Package3.
- ↑ Cutscene prior to Narrow Margin, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ WORLD / OSEAN FED / M. Snow, ACES WEB. Published February 29, 2004. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Narrow Margin, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ Rendezvous, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ Cutscene 20, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ Ending cutscene, Final Option, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ "Aces, Demons, and Ghosts: Mysterious Heroes of the Belkan Conflict", OBN Journal (Special Issue). Published July 2014.
- ↑ Cutscene 21, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ Sea of Chaos, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ ACES, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ The Unsung War, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ Green Hills, Aces At War: A History (2019), pages 55-56
- ↑ Masato Kanno's Twitter reply to question regarding Snow's rank. Published March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
