Dragon's Lair Wiki
Dragon's Lair Wiki
Advertisement
" You cannot win! Surrender, you coward! "
— Borf, Space Ace

Commander Borf, better known simply as Borf, is the main antagonist in Space Ace. He seeks to conquer the Earth with the aid of his minions and the powerful Infanto Ray, which would allow him to (as relayed during the game's attract mode) "establish his power on Planet Earth, change people to babies". However, his nefarious machinations are opposed by the heroic space warriors Ace and Kimberly.


Appearance and abilities[]

An evil blue-skinned humanoid alien, Borf displays bulging muscles and is usually countenanced by a devious grin or chuckle. The villain often travels on a floating platform (referred to as a "speeder disc" in a Magicom promotional kit[1]), from which he can fire energy blasts at his enemies. He is shown to be adept at jousting with electrical pugil sticks, his weapon of choice used in his confrontation with Ace.

Appearances[]

Space Ace[]

Borf plans to use the Infanto Ray to conquer the entire planet of Earth, but Ace and Kimberly track his space ship and attempt to neutralize him. Borf hits Ace with the Ray, causing the hero to revert into his weaker alter ego "Dexter." Kimberly falls into a trap that transports her into Borf's ship, making her his prisoner. Borf attempts to finish off Dexter with a series of blasts from his floating platform then entrusts his robotic droids to complete the work as he escapes on his ship with Kimberly.

As Dexter and Kimberly progress closer to Borf's main control complex, he coordinates a series of security measures from the safety of his command station. Finally, the heroes reach Borf's headquarters where they are ambushed by his Grumlet guards in addition to Borf and his Infanto Ray. Dexter energizes into Ace and uses a mirror to deflect a blast from the Infanto Ray back into Borf, transforming him into a harmless and friendly baby. A delighted Kimberly asks Ace if they can keep the adorable Baby Borf as their own adopted child.

Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge[]

Borf's de-aging at the end of Space Ace is reversed almost immediately. Borf's remaining minions seize Kimberly and a Video Guard retrieves the infantized leader, reversing the effects of the Infanto Ray before Dexter can intervene. Borf escapes to his space station, and holds Kimberly hostage as Dexter pursues them in the Star Pac.

Borf attempts to ambush Dexter at the station's central complex, riding on a flying platform with a hostage Kimberly while firing laser blasts. Ace is able to escape with Kimberly to another planet, only to be ambushed again by Borf, who recaptures Kimberly and attempts to lower her into the pit of a carnivorous yellow monster as Ace struggles to pull himself over the pit's ledge. Ace swings to the rescue, causing Borf to lose his balance and fall into the Pit Monster's open mouth, seemingly ending the villain's life.

Space Ace (SNES)[]

The home console game largely follows plot of arcade game while adding platforming elements distinct from the arcade’s quick-time event gameplay. Ace must rescue Kimberly and thwart Borf by overcoming enemies adapted from the arcade game. Borf appears in several cut scenes and sporadically throughout the main game, usually blasting at Dexter from the safety of his floating platform. In the game's final stage "Showdown," Dexter must evade swarms of Grumlets and Borf's Infanto Ray blasts, but in a departure from the arcade game, Ace must trick Borf into shooting the mirror multiple times before the Infanto Ray's effects transform the villain into a baby, ending the game.

Space Ace (TV series)[]

Borf appears regularly as the series' main villain, masterminding different plans in attempt to conquer the Earth, but always being defeated by Ace, Kimberly, and their allies.

Space Ace (comics)[]

The comic book series introduces Borf's equally evil brother Commander Gorf, who restores the Baby Borf back to his regular age. Together, the brothers plot revenge upon Ace and Kimberly, in addition to inciting and manipulating a planetary civil war amongst the Zandorians.

Trivia[]

  • Borf's Pugil Stick battle against Ace is featured in the blue-covered Space Ace promotional Don Bluth Animation Flip-Book.
  • As "Baby Borf", the formerly evil tyrant becomes friendly to Ace and Kimberly. In the expansion of the game's storyline seen in the comics, he even makes efforts to assist them in their mission. However, once restored to his regular age, he immediately regains his evil disposition.
  • Borf is one of the few characters in the franchise to experience a moral alignment shift due to the effects of a transformation, the other being Princess Daphne, who temporarily becomes evil as the Banshee due to the effects of the Death Ring.
  • Don Bluth described his vocal performance of Borf as a series of growls aided by electronics, and expressed his belief that Paul Shenar (who voiced Jenner in Bluth's film The Secret of NIMH) would have been an ideal choice for the role if budget had permitted hiring voice actors.[2]

Gallery[]

A full gallery of Borf can be seen here.

References[]

  1. “Space Ace - Promotion Kit - Coloring Contest” (UK, 1984)
  2. Creator Interview (Space Ace Digital Leisure BluRay, 2008)
Advertisement