- "I’m just kidnapped by aliens, that’s all! "
- —Kimberly, Space Ace
Kimberly (sometimes called Kimmie or Kimmy) is the deuteragonist of Space Ace. She is the professional partner and tentative love interest of the heroic Ace, assisting him in his battle against the evil Borf and also serving as the series' damsel in distress.
Her role as a character varies throughout the television series, comic series, and other spinoffs. In the Ruby-Spears animated series, she is referred to as "Officer Kimberly," but is called "Agent Kimberly" in the comics, making her comparable in rank to Ace. Overall, Kimberly tends to play a more active and visible role in Ace’s adventures compared to Princess Daphne’s generally passive and remote role in the Dragon’s Lair adventures.
Appearance and Character Development[]
Kimberly is an independent, spunky and sassy redheaded woman with waist-length hair. In the games, she wears a revealing blue outfit with high-heeled boots, a very short mini-skirt, and large white shoulder pads. Her belt and headband are fronted by pink hearts. She seems particularly fond of babies and immediately wants to adopt “Baby Borf” after the villain is turned infantile by the Infanto Ray. She is prone to sassy banter with her partner, with her tone varying somewhat dependent upon his physical state as Ace or Dexter.
Responding to fanmail[1] and criticism from his female animators regarding the air-headed demeanor of Princess Daphne in Dragon's Lair, Don Bluth decided to strengthen the personality and agency of the female heroine for Space Ace, which he compared to "a perky, Harvard, straight A junior on spring break." Bluth also offered to cast one of his animators as her voice, which would allow the performer to mold her development, recalling that, "Without giving it a second thought, Lorna Pomeroy jumped at the chance. With that she had my ear for six months, bless her heart! I have no regrets though. The women were right."[2]
According to Magicom's early promotion for the game with media outs, Kimberly is contrasted to Daphne in her independent attitude: "She's just as tall, and in a more civilized way, just as pretty. But--curse or bonus--she's got a brain, and with it, a mouth. Instead of screaming 'save me!' she yells, 'Get me out of here!' Then, she quickly points out the mission to save Earth. She has been called a cross between Jane Fonda, Joan Rivers, and Katherine Hepburn."[3]
Bluth has noted on the character development of Ace and Kimberly (in contrast to Dirk and Daphne): “you want to make a game that’s fresh and different. . . . The couple are really different from Daphne and Dirk. He’s pretty hip and has all the hip dialogue and so is she. So, you’ve got two very independent creatures who are trying to get together, which makes the whole character dynamic much, much different. Mainly what I’m attracted to here is the fact that if you [the player] fail in any of your attempts to make this guy win that you lose, you lose big time because you get reduced to a child and you have to go through it all over again. So his girlfriend keeps laughing at him because if he fails, he makes an idiot of himself.”[4]
Game appearances[]
Space Ace[]
During the game's attract mode animation, Ace and Kimberly take on the mission to defeat Borf, an evil alien that plans to rule earth using the powerful Infanto Ray. Ace eventually gets hit and becomes smaller in size and overall weaker. In the game, the two discover Borf's ship as it immediately captures a falling Kimberly leaving the diminished Dexter to retreat from Borf's onslaught. Dexter chases Borf’s ship in the Star Pac and checks in with the captive Kimberly via a short video call. Kimberly is taken prisoner by Video Guards to Borf’s command center as she calls out again to Dexter for help through the video monitors. As Dexter journeys deeper into Borf’s station, he apparently discovers a chained up Kimberly who is revealed to be the shape-shifting Hexter in disguise. After sliding down a tube into a checkered-board, Dexter acquires a Star Cycle, evades a gang of Babaloons on cycles, and finally reunites with the real Kimberly, who is annoyed by the hero’s late arrival. Despite initial reluctance to riding with Ace on the cycle, a near fatal experience of being eaten by a large Babaloon monster who hunts near the edges of the stage immediately changes her attitude. Kimberly informs him of Borf’s plan to use the Infanto Ray upon Earth’s population, and promises to get them into Borf’s command center. The two continue their journey using Rocket Skates and Aqua Booms, finally reaching Borf’s lair by sliding down another tube. Kimberly is immediately taken hostage again by a swarm of Grumlets and tied to a circular platform, which the villains lower into a molten vat. As Ace contends with Borf, he also frees Kimberly, motioning her to retreat as he reflects a Infanto Ray blast back at Borf. The formerly evil scourge now reduced to a harmless baby, Kimberly is smitten with the infant’s adorable demeanor as asks Ace if they can keep the child to raise as their own.
Space Ace home computer port[]
Largely follows plot of arcade game with scaled-down and abbreviated content, Kimberly appears in the game's opening and final stage.
Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge[]
Immediately following Borf’s transformation, a Video Guard retrieves Baby Borf and reverses the effects of the Infanto Ray, restoring the villain to his proper age and evil ways. The remaining Grumlets re-capture Kimberly and carry her away. Dexter immediately gives chase in the Star Pac to planet where he quickly fights off a horde of enemies transforming back and forth as he advances through obstacles. Going deeper, Dexter encounters Hexter impersonating Kimberly. After advancing past these enemies, Borf ambushes Dexter, blasting at the hero from his floating platform while holding Kimberly hostage. Kimberly falls away and tumbles into the station’s depths, but Dexter energizes into Ace and catches her. The two heroes retreat in the Star Pac and crash land on a nearby planet. After disembarking, the partners attempt to share a kiss, only to be ambushed by Borf, who grabs 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. With the last threat neutralized, Ace gifts Kimberly a bouquet of fresh flowers, concluding the adventure.
Space Ace SNES/Super Famicom[]
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. Kimberly is included in several of the game's animated cutscenes and also appears as an animated sprite in the game's later stages. The first appearance of her in-game sprites occur at the beginning of the “Dark Dex” stage before Hexter reveals his true form. Afterwards, Ace encounters the real Kimberly at the end of the "Motorcycle Chase" stage, and the heroine follows the hero into the "Rocket Skate Maze" and the "Underwater Cavern" shadowing his movements (sometimes with a slight delay). Comparable to an "escort mission," Dexter must complete the levels in which she appears while also making sure no harm befalls her, as the player will lose a life if she dies such as being eaten by the Eels while using the Aqua Booms.[5] She is carried away by the Grumlets during the final "Showdown" stage, but unlike the arcade game, the player does not have to rescue her from boiling in the molten vat before defeating Borf. By earning the best ending, Ace and Kimberly can be seen sharing a kiss as the credits roll.
Other appearances[]
TV series[]
In the short lived cartoons, Ace and Kimberly continue their battles against Borf. The episodes go into detail of their home base, and Ace's exposure to the Infanto Ray is kept a secret between the two space patrol officers, with Kimberly covering for Ace’s transformations by deceiving Space Marshall Vaughn into believing that the gangly “Dexter” is her kid brother. Unlike the games, Ace has absolutely no control over the changes, often necessitating Kimberly to play an active role in succeeding in their missions. In another departure from the games, Kimberly regularly refers to Ace’s mature form by the title “Space Ace,” as opposed to Ace having to insist upon the name. When Ace transforms as a lingering side effect of the Infanto Ray, Kimberly consistently calls him “Dexter.”
Space Ace comics[]
Following the events of the arcade game, Ace and Kimberly return to base in a romantic relationship with the two adopting the infant Borf and starting a family, much to Ace's chagrin. Similar to the cartoon series, Ace cannot control the effects of the Infanto Ray, although Kimberly fully briefs their commanding officer, who suspends Ace from active duty in the interest of protecting his health until a cure can be discovered to stabilize his transformations. Nevertheless, Ace and Kimberly are confronted by the new threat of Commander Gorf, Borf's brother who plans on retrieving him. Together Ace and Kimberly work to stop the evil brothers from manipulating a civil war. At the conclusion of the story, Ace is cured of his transformations, and he marries Kimberly in a ceremony inexplicably attended by Dirk and Daphne.
Trivia[]
- According to an early press feature on the game’s development, Kimberly was referred as “Dizzy Dame” prior to receiving her official name.[6]
- Kimberly shares a fate with Ace in several Death Nodes in the stages in which she appears, which include presumed death by way of suffocation, high speed impact, drowning, boiling, devouring, and even tickling. Despite the implied violent nature of their demise, many of the Death Nodes are played for humor, with both Ace and Kimberly being prone to “break the fourth wall” by gazing into the camera to seemingly acknowledge the player.
- Line art and painted cels exist of a more juvenile variation of Kimberly that does not appear in any version of the game, suggesting that early plans might called for her to experience the effects of the Infanto Ray at some point in the game, similar to Ace’s transformations into his “Dexter” alter ego.[7]
- A juvenile variation of Kimberly was introduced in the Ruby-Spears television series episode "Calamity Kimmie,” a temporary and delayed effect of exposure to the Infanto Ray.
- Around 2012, Kimberly was commemorated as a statue in Electric Tiki’s line of “Animated Ladies” Series 2, which focused upon notable redheads, alongside characters owned by the Walt Disney Company.[8]
Gallery[]
A full gallery of Kimberly can be seen here.
References[]
- ↑ "The Vid Kid" El Paso Times (March 9, 1984), page 3-C
- ↑ Don Bluth's Toon Talk Vol.1 #3 (September 2000), page 8
- ↑ Rawson Stovall, "Space Ace Newest in Laser Disc Games," The Odessa American (March 11 1984), PAGE 2BB
- ↑ “Video Commentary (Space Ace Digital Leisure BluRay)
- ↑ "Space Ace" Game Players 7:6 (June 1994), page 78
- ↑ Sue Boyce, “Inside the Dragon’s Lair—Do You Dare?” Electronic Entertainment 2:9 (September 1983), pages 34-35
- ↑ Worthpoint.com “SPACE ACE KIMBERLY ANIMATION DRAWINGS SEQUENCE OF 11 (DON BLUTH, 1983)” Sourced images from Heritage Auctions; Worthpoint.com “SPACE ACE PRODUCTION CELS AND COLOR MODEL PRINT GROUP OF 3 (DON BLUTH, 1983)” Sourced images from Heritage Auctions; Guardians of Good, Bluth: Space Ace
- ↑ Electric Tiki "Animated Ladies"; Instagram @electrictiki (April 30, 2024)