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I'm probably sticking my hand into a hornets? nest with this page, but these are topics which have caused a great deal of controversy over the years. Below are the three most common misconceptions about specific, almost arbitrary facets of "Biker Mice." Why bother correcting them, if they're so minor? Because these questions and answers have come up so many times in the past that I think somebody needs to set them down in HTML for all the world to see. Ergo, I present them to you. And before you all flame me and tell me I'm wrong/I'm an idiot/I have sex with goats, please read this end-note.
That said, here we go. The three biggest misconceptions concerning "Biker Mice" are:
Myth: "Martian mice bleed green."
Fact: Martian mice bleed red.
I imagine that non-Biker Mice fans are going to be confused as to why in the world the color of the mice?s blood is so important that I'd dedicate precious webspace to it. Isn?t it just pointless trivia? Yeah, pretty much (although it can be a very important consideration for FanArtists). But it's been a major topic of debate over the last several years on the Bikermice.com message board, and will probably continue to be one well into the next century.
The question arises from a statement made by Vinnie in one of the episodes of the last season of "Biker Mice," entitled "Where No Mouse Has Gone Before." In this episode, our furry heroes are accidentally Transported to Plutark, and must fight their way across a hostile planet to prevent their fishy foes from invading Earth (incidentally, it's a hilarious political satire). I won't relate the incident that the inflammatory statement comes from, because it's funny as Hell and I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seem the episode. What Vinnie says is this, and I quote: "I'm a hundred-percent green-blooded Martian mouse, not some fish!"
Now, if Vinnie had shouted that line in the absence of evidence that Martian mice bleed any other color, then maybe we could indeed take his statement at face value, and assume that mice have got lime-colored go-juice pumping through them. But the fact of the matter is that Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie have bled before, all three of them, right before our very eyes. Importantly, the evidence occurs both before the statement is made and after, suggesting a pre-established idea, and continuity.
The first example occurs during the second season, in the episode entitled, "Cycle Centaurs." Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie get a little cut up as they race through a tunnel lined with spikes (this is part of a plan by Karbunkle to get samples of their fur and the metal from their bikes; what would be wrong with simply sneaking into the Last Chance and recovering some shed mouse fur is beyond me). All three of them are visibly scratched, and the bloody marks left on their arms and legs are clearly red. Further, if you watch closely as Throttle is cut on his right arm (just after Modo gets that nasty laceration on his leg), you can see red blood flying from his arm. It's easy to see.
As fans of "Biker Mice" are well aware, however, later material often contradicts or nullifies was has been said or shown before. For example, it is fairly universally accepted that the flashback in "Once Upon a Time On Mars Part Two" of season three is the correct depiction of how Modo received his bionic arm, not the previous telling seen in "The Verminator" in season two. Does this mean that Vinnie's "green-blooded" statement is correct, and the blood from before is wrong? That it should have been red? Uh-uh. Even if Vinnie meant what he said literally, another bloody scene (significantly bloodier than the first, as a matter of fact) occurs two episodes afterward, in "Once Upon a Time On Mars Part Two." At the very beginning of the episode, as is the standard with multi-parters, a brief recap is presented, showing what has come before. In this case, we see Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie being blown off their bikes by an explosion, and writhing in agony. Look at Throttle's face, and you'll see blood coursing from his closed eyes, across his cheeks, in a pair of bright red rivers. There's also a large red patch near Modo's right shoulder, where he'd be bleeding as a result of his arm being blasted into tiny bits.
So we have two clear instances of proof that Martian mice bleed red. By contrast, have we ever seen them bleeding green? Not once. So we have to re-examine Vinnie's statement for a meaning other than a literal one. The most popular theory is that a "green-blooded" Martian mouse is roughly equivalent to a "blue-blooded" human. This, however, connotes royalty or a similarly noble bloodline, and I don?t think that's what Vinnie means, either (although I wouldn't put it past our white-furred egotist to consider himself a king among mice). The only other blood-related concept close to Vinnie's line is the idea of being a "red-blooded insert-region-here man," a strong declaration of pride in one's country or the place of one's birth. While "red-blooded" could be taken literally here, the color reference seems to be related to red being the color of passion and strength, as in heraldry. The writer of the episode, Jess Winfield, seemed to want to evoke that sentiment of pride in one's home, and simply gave it a slightly Martian twist by changing the color reference.
In summary, here's what we have: all the evidence backs up the Martian mice bleeding red. None exists to support the green-blood theory. They bleed red. End of discussion.
Myth: "All three bikes have names."
Fact: Only Modo's bike is named.
Although we know that all three mice love their bikes, it's obvious that Modo is closer to his than his bros are to theirs. He talks to it constantly, spends his down-time polishing and repairing it, and has even fought his way through poisonous glop to rescue it against Throttle and Vinnie's horrified screams. Insofar as we know, he isn't sleeping with it, but then again, this was a children's series. At any rate, it should come as no surprise that Modo has named his beloved bike, calling the purple hog either "Lil' Hoss" or "Lil' Darlin'." It's only natural to assume that Throttle and Vinnie's bikes might have names as well. It's certainly within the realm of possibility. However, no "official" name was ever given for either, despite fan speculation to the contrary. Two dubiouis nicknames--one for each bike--have surfaced on the BikerMice.com Message Board, and while they'd be fine names for the rides if they had them, they aren't ones that were intended by the writers.
Whenever someone asks the bikes' names on the Message Board, the first piece of misinformation they receive is that Throttle's bike is named "Lady." This is actually a bit of poetic license with regards to a line from "Road Ravens." Near the end of the episode, Throttle finds his bike in the Ravens' garage, mounts up, and as the bad guys swarm around, he whispers to it, "Let's show these losers how a real lady walks." Some have taken the meaning here to be that he's calling his bike "Lady." What?s really happening is that Throttle is referring to his bike as a lady. As Stephen King remarked in one of his books (Christine, I believe), men almost always refer to their vehicles in the feminine, particularly when they?re angry at it, ex. "Move, you bitch!" The fact that Throttle never again refers to the bike as "Lady" in other episodes further suggests that he does not have a name for it, or at least that "Lady" isn't it.
Another rumor has surfaced recently that Vinnie's bike is named "Sweetheart." The evidence for this one is even less supportive. Even if Vinnie has called his bike "Sweetheart" on more than one occasion, he calls everything and everyone "Sweetheart." He calls his bike "Sweetheart." He calls Charley "Sweetheart." He called Throttle "Sweetheart" on one occasion (no kidding). It's a term of endearment, not a real name.
Modo's bike, however, is definitely "Lil' Hoss." He constantly refers to the bike as such, or as "Lil' Darlin'" or "Darlin'." This gives the claim that he has indeed named his bike this much more weight than the other two.
Myth: "All of the mice have last names."
Fact: None of the mice, including Vinnie, have last names.
This one is probably the most surprising, and I know I was floored when I heard it,particularly with regards to Vinnie. In "The Pits," the white-furred wild child laughingly shouts, "You're messin' with Vinnie VanWham, the baddest mamajammer this side of the asteroid belt!" Naturally, everyone assumed from then on that Vinnie's last name is, indeed, VanWham. It certainly feels right, doesn't it? Nice alliteration, too. It was instantly picked up by FanFiction writers, and has been used ever since. Less frequently used in Modo's "surname," Maverick. It grew out of a line in "We're Going to Cheesyland," in which Modo shouts, "Modo Maverick, huggin' your wing!" Again, nice alliteration, although a little less "last-name-y" than "VanWham." So far, no instance of Throttle having an "official" last name has come up, although many have been established in the FanFic kingdom.
Here's the only rub about "VanWham" and "Maverick": they ain't Vinnie and Modo's last names. As revealed in a posting to the Unofficial Biker Mice from Mars Message Board on Tuesday, March 17, 1998 made by series producer Tom Tataranowitz (and let's face facts, you can't ask for a much better authority on the thing), the decision was made early in the series that none of the mice were going to have last names, for some pretty interesting reasons. Here it is, straight from the horse's message-board posting:
The issue of the Mice's last names came up early in the series. The decision was made not to give them any. There were a couple of reasons as follows:There you have it: "Cosmic hoo-hah."
I reasoned that Mars is not only the War Planet from our perspective on Earth, but due to the cosmic hoo-hah of the universe, it inhabits that role in all our solar system's history. This means that Mars had a seriously violent and treacherous history. In such an environment, last names became a liability. Families can be traced and hurt; trails too easily left, records too easily kept, etc. So it came to pass among the Mice of Mars that no one was given a last name. Each Clan could readily identify one of it's own via their antennae. So even when a more civilized Mars emerged from the barbarous past, this practice was kept.
Aesthetically, I thought that the simple one word monickers the Mice used contrasted nicely with the overblown and pompus Plutarkian names ala "Lawrence Lactavius Limburger," etc.
Now, those were my reasons for directing the series in that direction. Rick Ungar may have answers of his own. You?ll have to ask him.
So where does that leave us with the above references? Vinnie's, as Tom put it, was a nickname Vinnie gave himself. Modo's supposed surname is easier to explain, when viewed in context: he's referencing "Top Gun." Think about it: "Maverick"; "huggin' your wing"...etc. And even if it's not literally "Top Gun," he's talking fighter pilots. Get it?
Okay, now before you all flame me, hear me out. I'm not saying that you shouldn't or you can't use the above names or blood colors in your stories. Who the Hell would I be to tell you that? FanFics are all about ideas that diverge from the original material in some way; even if the characters remain totally true to their cannon selves, it's still unique because it wasn't written by the original writers. Spurt green blood from wounds! Use "Lady" and "Sweetheart" and "VanWham" and "Maverick" and whatever else floats your boat! I never stopped using VanWham when I found out that it wasn?t really Vinnie's last name because I really liked it.
So what's the purpose of this page, then? As stated above, I want people who want to know the cannon information for the series to get the truth. Whether they decide to accept that for use in their stories or art is their decision, but they should be able to find the real information. So I would ask you all that if someone asks you these questions, with obvious regard to the series, that you set them straight and give them the right answers.
All that said, if you still wanna flame me, feel free. Hell, it lets me know that people are reading this. But I hope that this straightened a few things out, and makes things a little clearer. I'm not stupid enough to think this will end the controversies, but still...
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