Wing Commander Cartoon Party: The Warrior King

November 16, 1996: eager young wingnuts turned on the USA Network to watch the latest episode of Wing Commander Academy, typically the third of four action shows aired in a block. But on this particular Saturday what we found was... Mortal Kombat? Had Wing Commander Academy been cancelled, pulled early? No, it turned out the episode was airing a half hour later. But it was a pretty crazy one, with Michael Dorn playing a... space viking?

Thus we were introduced to the Warrior King saga, an entirely insane (and unpromoted) cartoon crossover between four licensed IPs: Street Fighter, Savage Dragon, Mortal Kombat and Wing Commander Academy. The four shows went together to tell the story of the Warrior King, the aforementioned space viking, as he sought a magic orb that would restore his destroyed homeworld. Each show followed the rules of its universe, and the familiar characters and settings never actually explained... that it was all about the Warrior King!

Well, this coming weekend we're going to recreate that confused excitement with plenty of commentary from our crew of Wing Commander historians. So JOIN US on Saturday, April 5th at noon Eastern for a cartoon party as we group watch the entire Warrior King saga! So stock in some sugary cereal, wash your most comfortable pajamas and plan to spend 90 minutes enjoying one of the craziest things that has ever happened.

Where can I find copies of the shows for the watch party?

You will need to download the four episodes from the CIC before we start! We're also going to kick everything off with the classic Looney Tunes short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century which was referenced several times in the original Wing Commander. Here are the links:

• Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
• Episode 1 - Street Fighter - The Warrior King
• Episode 2 - Savage Dragon - Endgame
• Episode 3 - Mortal Kombat - Resurrection
• Episode 4 - Wing Commander Academy - Recreation

We've also uploaded a zip of all five shows together for ease of downloading. You can get that here.

How do we watch the shows together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them one at a time together starting with the short at noon EST on Saturday. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!