Team Play
Series	Game Boy
Writer	George Caragonne
Artists	Paris Cullins Art Nichols Jade Rainbowhead
Publisher	Valiant Comics
Label	Game Boy
Release dates	August 21, 1990[1] May 1991[2] May 1991[3] May 1991[4]
← Previous It's a Small World After All	Next → Pipes is Pipes

Team Play is the third issue ofValiant Comics'Game Boy comic series. It is the only issue in the series whereTatanga andPrincess Daisy do not appear. It is also the only issue wherePionpi is not seen riding on aYurarin, instead riding on a hover platform.

Plot synopsis[edit]

Following the events ofthe previous issue,Herman Smirch is wanted by theFBI as the main suspect in the hijacking of aBoeing 747 airliner. After pretending to the police that she has not seen him in months, Herman's mother comes to her son (who was hiding in her closet) and tells him the police is gone. She also gives him a package: his neighbor forwarded back theGame Boy he had given to her children, with a note saying she taught her kids not to accept gifts from strangers and especially not "weirdos" like Herman.

Convinced that he cannot get his mother involved in his situation with the Game Boy invaders, Herman decides to "borrow" some of her house money and her car. A week later, Herman is atJerky's Burger Bar, contemplating that he should skip payment on his dinner as he finds the price outrageous. Whilethe waitress is away serving another customer, he gets hypnotized into opening the gateway and summonsPionpi.

Herman's car flies over the Pacific.

Going outside, Pionpi explains that he came with a elite squadron to set up a base forTatanga and enslave manygiants. He asks Herman what the world's largest population center is, to which Herman answersChina. Satisfied with the answer, Pionpi orders Herman to drive him to China and has his car modified to be able to fly. After a few hours of flight, Herman, who does not know where China is, lands onto a uninhabited island in thePacific Ocean and tells Pionpi they are at the destination, pretending the lack of inhabitants is because it is monsoon season. Pionpi then orders his army to begin construction ofFortress Tatanga.

On theUSS Nimitz, EnsignGreg Campbell points out toJose that there is a black cloud hanging over the island, but Jose merely tells him to go back to work. Later, inside his quarters, the mention of the black cloud leads to Greg rereading a letter from his brotherJosh. The letter explains that the black cloud is a sign of Tatanga's presence and how to summonMario by using the "middle door" in either of the first two levels of each world ofSuper Mario Land, but Greg dismisses the letter as a product of his brother's hyperactive imagination.

In the afternoon, an off-duty Greg playsSuper Mario Land and is shocked to find thegoal has three doors instead of two. Mario goes through the middle door and enters reality, asking Greg where Tatanga is.

On the island, Tatanga's forces are nearly finished fortifying their base.

Back on the deck of theNimitz, Mario thanks Greg for his assistance in getting theSky Pop out of the Game Boy and takes off to recon the island. Sensing something is wrong as he approaches the base, Mario is ambushed by Tatanga's forces, who are shooting with real ammunition. The Sky Pop is heavily damaged and Mario makes a crash landing on the deck of theNimitz, Greg catching the plane as if it were a football.

Pionpi and the troopers rejoice at Mario's apparent defeat and their impending victory. Herman joins in their battle chant, but Pionpi silences him, telling him the chant is only for Tatanga's loyal minions. AGao rebuffs Pionpi, saying Herman is as much of a servant to Tatanga as them.

Mario unleashes firepower

On theNimitz, Mario reassures Greg he is fine and explains he is outmatched against Tatanga'sreal world weapons, requesting access to the ship's ordinances. Greg is initially hesitant but changes his mind, reasoning that, as the island isUnited States territory, it is his responsibility as a Ordnance Officer to bring the fight to Tatanga.

The next morning, two officers in the carrier's Air Operations Center, having found a piece of paper on the hangar deck, are befuddled by the blueprints for the Mario Sky Pop Defense System. Now heavily armed withM61 Vulcan cannons, various type of missiles, and laser-guided bombs, the Sky Pop flies by the carrier's control tower.

Mario flies to the island fortress again, but this time his new weapon systems make short work of the island defenders. As they detect one of the carrier'sF/A-18 Hornets approaching the island, Pionpi orders the guns to fire on it, giving Mario the opening he needs to land. Mario throws a bomb from the Sky Pop's defense system to defeat a group of Gaos. A tank nearly sneaks up on Mario, but it destroyed by a blast from the F/A-18. Mario jumps into the command center and grabs Pionpi, but the main screen of the command console shows the F/A-18 has been heavily damaged and is about to crash. Mario flies to the F/A-18 and hold its wing, ensuring a safe landing.

Pionpi, recognizing the base is lost, activates its self-destruct countdown and orders Herman to escape. On the carrier's deck, Mario notices Tatanga's troops are escaping and jumps back into the Game Boy. A formation of US Navy's planes observes the destruction of the base and flies back to the carrier.

Herman Smirch flies back to the US Pacific coast and parks at a gas station to use the restroom, content in the idea he is now one of Tatanga's top minions. While inside, his car flies up and disappears. Heading back outside, Herman laments he forgot to put it on park.

Quotes[edit]

• I can't believe it! Are we living in a police state? A man can't feel safe in his own mother's house..! - Herman
• Mario, I can't let anybody see you--! I--I don't know what the regulations say about bringing unauthorized videogame personnel aboard but, I think I might get in big trouble - Greg
• -Silence! Destroy the intruding giant's plane! Then destroy Mario!
  -I sawTop Gun six times! Those F-18's are tough! - Pionpi and Herman

Notable mistakes and errors[edit]

• In the original version:
  • WhenGreg is readinghis brother's letter in his bunk, the letter uses the incorrect plural "world's" (with an apostrophe) as opposed to "worlds".
  • WhenMario says that he must do a strategic withdrawal upon finding thatTatanga's minions are using ammunition for thereal world, withdrawal is misspelled as "withdrawl".
• Herman's normally black shirt turns green twice during the opening panels of the comic athis mother's house, first when he sees his photo on the TV, and second when he "borrows" some of his mother's money.
• WhenMelody-Ann believes Herman to either be a mob informant orFBI undercover agent, her right wrist has only one bracelet as opposed to the usual two.
• In the Swedish translation, part one of the comic is incorrectly referred to as part two.

Version differences[edit]

• In the Finnish and Swedish translations, the text on the highway signs reading "Pacific 1 Coast Highway" and "San Francisco 95 Miles" is removed.
• In the original version, whenGreg guidesMario through the middle door in theMuda Kingdom, saying that it must be a nightmare, Mario pops out of theGame Boy and says that he is not a "dreamboat," referencing the fact that Greg is an admiral on theUSS Nimitz and making pun on a term referring to an exceptionally good-looking and sexually atrractive person. In the Finnish translation, Mario merely says that he is not a dream, without making a pun.
  • In the Swedish translation, Mario says that he is not a "dream prince."

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

• When some of the crewmembers aboard theUSS Nimitz spotMario flying away from the carrier in hisSky Pop, one of the crewmember suggests that it was a bird, to which another mentions that it looked like a tiny plane. A third crewmember then suggests that it was probablySuperman, referencing the line "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!" from the1940sSuperman animated series.

References[edit]

• Game Boy (comic)