BubbleCAN Shorts Review” Captain Canuck Episode 1 “Happy Canada Day!”

Spoilers Below

Apart from Wolverine, how many notable Canadian superheroes can you name? Chances are if you’re anything like me, you can count them on one finger. And that other superhero has recently been modernized for today’s audience and brought to life in a new medium.

Your ol’ buddy Lloyd is not too familiar with the Captain Canuck universe, but this patriotic man-of-action is one of the few comic book heroes who have implanted an image in my brain for as long as I can remember.

Is it the fact that he is clad in our nations red and white colours? The iconic maple leaf, which adorns his helmet? Or the ring to his name that says, “Hey, super villain, let’s grab a Molson and talk this one out.”

Whatever the case may be, I finally managed to get my first glance into the world of Captain Canuck, in the premier episode of the new web series, titled “Happy Canada Day!”, and believe me, you can’t get much more national-pride squeezed into a three minute comic book series, including a Platinum Blonde appearance, saving a Canada Day celebration while hurdling a bomb from atop Parliament Hill, and even a “Canada Day” banner with the French translation: “Fête du Canada”… So much for separatism.

The story begins with our protagonist overwhelmed on the rooftop of Ottawa’s Fairmont Château Laurier, dazed by a flash-grenade and surrounded by men in black. Although we quickly learn this is just a bump in the road for Captain Canuck, as he drops the entire group like a bad habit.

With less than three minutes to discover the whereabouts of an explosive, the Captain still manages to find the time to wish the public a “happy Canada Day,” and even allows an overzealous admirer to steal a smooch.

Finding the bomb hidden in an amplifier amongst Platinum Blonde’s set (to which one angry fan belts out: “Couldn’t you have done that during Loverboy’s set?”), Canuck quickly races to the top of Parliament Hill, hurdling the device into the air in the nick-of-time to join the cascade of Canada Day fireworks.

The only thing more exciting than the first two-and-a-half minutes, is the remaining thirty seconds, where we’re introduced to Mister Gold, who has devised a special plan for our hero, and his hired mercenary, Blue Fox, a beautiful and deadly assassin and master-of-disguise.

Kris Holden-Ried is perfect as the gravelly Captain Canuck, alongside a cast of stellar Canadian actors who have no previous voice work experience. The animation is slick, the writing is superb, and the whole damn thing is worth a watch!

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