Difference between revisions of "Travis Touchdown"

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Travis Touchdown is the protagonist of the No More Heroes series. He is a consumer of various nerd and otaku subcultures as well as an amateur assassin.

Appearance and Personality

Travis Touchdown is an American man of average height and build. He has black hair, which he spikes up, and blue eyes. He typically wears sunglasses, a red leather jacket, a graphic t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. In Travis Strikes Again, Travis switches to a purple jacket. Travis clips his beam katanas to his belt when not in use.

Travis Touchdown is a crude, unapologetic otaku with a bloodthirsty streak. Though he initially becomes an assassin for quick cash, he very soon becomes accustomed to killing, even glorifying in it. He is initially selfish and short-sighted; he cares very little for the consequences of his career as an assassin, focusing only on revenge, the satisfaction he gets through violence, and the chance to be number one. Travis also has the tendency to be gullible and easily influenced by sex or his own impulses. Past the facade, however, Travis is a person who feels trapped by his own circumstances. True to the common theme of Kill the Past, Travis is always at odds with his past: throughout his appearances, he is made to choose between accepting the role the past has in his life, or continuing to either run from it or remain passively within the cycle of violence he has created for himself.

Additionally, Travis is not completely without remorse. Over time, he grows to resent the United Assassins Association for treating death as a tool, to the point that he seeks to collapse the entire system and leave his life as an assassin behind. Furthermore, he has his own code of honor. Travis views all fights as a test of strength between two fighters, respecting his opponents and showing a distaste for needless killing. He often shows hesitance to kill younger opponents, and previously showed reluctance to kill women, though he has since grown to see them as equal opponents.

In spite of these faults, Travis is shown to be both a loyal friend and a man of his word. He is persistent and pursues all goals he sets for himself without fail, from becoming #1 in the UAA to collecting all the Death Balls in Travis Strikes Again. Finally, though he has few close allies, he cares for them genuinely and will stop at nothing to fight on their behalf.

History

No More Heroes

Travis Touchdown's past is intentionally left vague and even contradictory over the course of No More Heroes. By the end of the game, it is revealed that he has two long-lost siblings: twin Henry Cooldown (apparently raised in Ireland) and half-sister Jeane (the product of an affair between Travis' father and her mother). While the reasons for Henry's separation are unknown, Jeane was secretly raised in a "rotten apartment" where their father regularly molested her. Travis had no knowledge of this, viewing his father (according to Jeane) as a "hard-working family man" and eventually falling in love with Jeane. One summer night, she violently kills his parents out of revenge, leaving Travis to find a bloody Jeane standing over their mangled bodies. Travis suppresses this traumatic memory, seeming only to recall it while drunk.

At some point, Travis moves into Motel NO MORE HEROES in Santa Destroy, adopts his cat Jeane, then wins the beam katana Blood Berry on an online auction. He meets Sylvia Christel at the Death Match Bar one night; she overhears his drunken rambling and offers to help him get even with Jeane. Travis agrees, assassinates 11th ranked hitman Helter Skelter, and joins the United Assassins Association. After killing Rank 10, Death Metal, Travis realizes that he has become a target for assassins beneath him in rank and has become trapped in the world of assassins. He only agrees to continue ascending the ranks when Sylvia teases the promise of sex once he reaches Rank 1. Strangely, before Sylvia convinces him, he mentions her "promise", indicating that he is still subconsciously aware of his quest for revenge against the murderer of his parents.

Travis proceeds to move up through the ranks of the UAA. Notably, he spares Rank 8, Shinobu Jacobs. During their fight, Shinobu accuses him of killing her father Tim Jacobs, which he denies, having been a loyal student of Jacobs via correspondence tapes. Instead of killing Shinobu, he cuts off her right arm and vows to kill her when she has grown older and become stronger. He defeats but does not kill Rank 6, Holly Summmers, and she accuses him of being unable to kill a woman; she kills herself with a grenade and Travis buries her on Bodyslam Beach. Travis first encounters Henry Cooldown when Henry steals his kill of Rank 4, Letz Shake. An infuriated Travis attempts to fight him, but Sylvia breaks up their fight long enough for Henry to disappear. His trainer, Thunder Ryu, is killed by Rank 3, Speed Buster. Travis is nearly defeated by Rank 2, Bad Girl, only winning when he impales her with his katana while she is beating him. Eventually, Sylvia's contact with Travis becomes sporadic. Travis calls the UAA, only to reach Sylvia's mother. She reveals that Sylvia is a professional con artist and the UAA does not exist. However, she encourages him to fight his last battle, as "a good man finishes what he started".

Travis continues and meets Rank 1, Dark Star. Dark Star claims to be Travis' father, but is promptly killed by Jeane. Jeane and Travis break the fourth wall commenting on the surprise twist; Jeane explains their past in a fast-forwarded sequence (so the game isn't delayed due to a jacked-up rating). Travis and Jeane then begin their final battle. Jeane punches Travis through the chest, but Shinobu appears, cutting off Jeane's arm and saving Travis' life. Jeane accepts defeat and Travis cuts her to pieces, wishing her rest and a "more pleasant" dream.

Later, Travis is attacked by an assassin in his motel room. In the true ending, he is rescued by Henry Cooldown, who reveals that they are twins and that he is Sylvia's husband. They duel in the motel parking lot. The fourth wall is again broken when Henry asks how Travis will tie up all the game's loose ends as the protagonist; together, they agree to find "the exit" to the game and clash swords. In a post-credits scene, a young girl named Jeane (presumably Travis' daughter) is seen viewing the image of Travis and Henry clashing swords before she is called away by Sylvia.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Kurayami Dance

The 25th Ward: The Silver Case

Travis Strikes Again

travis/uehara real

The Outer Rim

Official profiles

Trivia

• Travis is inspired by Jackass' Johnny Knoxville and UFC fighter Josh Barnett.
• Many parallels exist between Travis and the protagonist of Suda51's favorite film, Paris, Texas, who is also named Travis: Travis Touchdown's son is also named Hunter, and the film's peepshow booth scene is referenced in No More Heroes 2.
• Travis' favorite porn is bukkake. Suda51 had previously stated that Travis lost his virginity to Sylvia Christel; however, he later contradicted this, saying that Travis lost his virginity to a friend's mom after getting fucked up at a party.
  • This is, bizarrely, supported by a photograph Travis owns in No More Heroes 2 of a woman under which is written "Billy's Mom". Any further information on Billy or his mother is currently unknown.
• Travis keeps a photograph of Jeane beside his answering machine through No More Heroes. In No More Heroes 2, the photo remains, but Jeane's face is scribbled out with pen.
• A picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an image of the Virgin Mary typically associated with Mexican Catholicism, can be seen on Travis' bedside table (behind a stack of porn magazines).
• Travis is said to have trained in the Hart Dungeon, which was a real pro-wrestling school located in Calgary, Alberta.

Appearances

• No More Heroes
• The Outer Rim
• No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
• No More Heroes 1.5
• Erotica Comic
• Kurayami Dance (unnamed)
• The 25th Ward: The Silver Case (remake, black out only)
• LET IT DIE (decal, mentioned through imposters)
• Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
• No More Heroes III

Gallery

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  Travis in No More Heroes

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  Travis in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

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  Travis in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes