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Duke Nukem
Voiced by: Jon St. John (English), Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese, Duke Nukem Forever), Luis Bajo (European Spanish, Duke Nukem Forever)
The main character of the franchise. Duke is a legendary American hero and worldwide cultural icon who has repeatedly saved Earth from armies of hostile robots, alien invaders, and mutant pig cops.
The Duke shows examples of...
- Berserk Button: Women being attacked is perhaps the one thing that makes Duke truly angry, as evidence by this quote in Forever:Duke: Not my babes! NOT in my town! You alien motherfuckers are gonna pay for this!
- Bond One-Liner: A master of these.
- Casual Kink: When Duke walks in on a S&M session in progress in Episode 4, he wistfully notes that it is "my kind of party", and laments that he is currently too busy to find the time to participate.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Crude though he may be, Duke does care for his babes and does not take kindly to them being hurt.
- Cigar Chomper: Cover art and official illustrations usually depict him with a cigar in his mouth.
- Cool Shades: Never seen without his pitch-black aviators, as a Shout-Out to They Live!.
- Deadpan Snarker: Quite capable of being this, especially when annoyed.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite being a Politically Incorrect Hero who loves guns and babes and has a massive ego, Duke Nukem Does The Internet has him regard Nazis, homophobes, and racists, among other unscrupulous groups, as why he considers Usenet as a digital Wretched Hive.
- Experienced Protagonist: At the start of the first Duke Nukem game, Duke is already the CIA's secret weapon.
- The Hedonist: Duke generally enjoys alcohol, cigars and women.
- Heroic Build: He's 6"4" and built like a truck.
- Heroic Comedic Sociopath: He truly relishes in killing aliens and other bad guys.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As vain and perverted as he is, Duke is still a sincerely heroic guy who puts his life on the line to keep others safe (especially women).
- Mr. Vice Guy: He's comedically flawed, but still more or less heroic in his actions.
- One-Man Army: He's defeated scores of monsters and robots on his own.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Played for Laughs and Subverted. He's a hyper-masculine womanizing tough guy who hates aliens. But also:
- Duke shows a genuine hatred of racists, homophobes and Nazi sympathizers
in "Duke Nukem Does the Internet". - In "Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard", he comforts a dying African-American soldier by telling him that in the future, Martin Luther King will take steps towards setting things straight for his people, also describing King as "kickass".
- Duke shows a genuine hatred of racists, homophobes and Nazi sympathizers
- Pop-Cultured Badass: He makes movie references like there's no tomorrow.
- Real Men Wear Pink: While he's an incredibly macho guy who slaughters enemies by the score, he's also a fan of Oprah Winfrey and he literally wore a pink shirt in his first appearance.
- Red Hot Masculinity: He oozes Testosterone Poisoning and wears a red tank top.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Pump-action shotguns are among his most well-known weapons of choice.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: Duke + pipebombs = dead bad guys. Throwing a remotely triggered bomb and detonating it is a skill Duke has mastered.
Allies
The Babes
Women captured by the different forces of evil across the series.
- Damsel in Distress: They'll even scream for Duke's help in Manhattan Project.
The Holsom Twins
A pair of women that are seen giving a blowjob to the Duke at the beginning of Forever.
Enemies
Dr. Proton
A mad scientist who was the Big Bad of the first game and made a return in the DLC for Duke Nukem Forever.
- Evil Cripple: Moves around in a hover chair due to a radiation accident costing him the use of his lower body; the 2011 game trades this in for a quadrupedal spider mech.
- Mad Scientist: Specializing in killer robots.
- Robot Master: Again, he has an army of TechBots at his beck and call.
The Cycloid Emperor
A towering alien with one eye who is the leader of the alien invasion in Duke Nukem 3D.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The ruler of the aliens and the most powerful one among them.
- Cyber Cyclops: A cyborg alien with one big glaring red eye.
Mooks
Assault Aliens
Assault Captain (Red), Assault Trooper (Green)
The main mooks of 3D. They usually attack shooting lasers at the Duke.- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When shot with the Shotgun, they'll cling to the last of their life before falling down.
- Jet Pack: They all come equipped with one, allowing them to attack from the air. It's quite satisfying to shoot one out of the sky and watch them splatter from a high fall.
- The Goomba: Too frail and slow to actually pose a threat to the Duke. Even the regular pistol works on them.
- Not So Above It All: Some aliens can be found using toilets to shit during their downtime.
- Teleport Spam: Assault Captains can teleport at will.
Pig Cops
- Pig Man: Exactly what their name implies: the LAPD mutated into evil, porcine soldiers for the invading aliens.
- Police Pig: Again, exactly what their name implies.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Wield their shotguns with lethal proficiency. Fortunately, they may occasionally drop one, allowing Duke to turn it back on them.
- The Bus Came Back: They appear as early-game mooks in Manhattan Project.
Octabrains
Large floating brain which attacks the Duke with psychic waves at distance, and bites at melee range. First found in the "Red Light District" level of L.A. Meltdown in 3D.
- Flying Seafood Special: Essentially screaming, psychic octopi with More Teeth than the Osmond Family that float through the air.
- Weaksauce Weakness: They're vulnerable to high-end weapons such as the RPG, Shrinker, Devastator and Incinerator.
Enforcers
Field soldiers first found in the Lunar Apocalypse level of 3D. They use a Chaingun in order to attack.
- More Dakka: They use a Chaingun in order to attack the Duke.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Noticeably reptilian and inarguably vile.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Shotgun and the Chaingun Cannon make mince meat of them. The Shrinker also works.
Assault Commander
The field commander of the Assault Aliens, always seen piloting a hovercraft from where they shoot RPG missiles.
- Airborne Mook: Is always seen piloting a hovercraft, even on closed spaces.
- Elite Mook: Stronger and sturdier than the other Assault Aliens.
- Fat Bastard: All their time spent sitting around commanding troopers from their hovercrafts has seen these aggressive, malicious alien jerks bloat into obesity.
Protector Drone
Appearing only in The Birth and "Duke Nukem 64'', Protector Drones are fast and tough melee enemies who can fire shrink rays.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Since The Birth wasn't included in 64 Protector Drones appear in the normal set of levels starting in Lunar Apocalypse.
- Lightning Bruiser: They are fast and hard to kill, requiring four shotgun shots or two RPG rockets to take down and their melee slashes can knock off a third of Duke's health.
- Shrink Ray: They can fire Shrinker beams that can shrink Duke so that they can stomp on him. They are also immune to the Shrinker.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Freezethrower can stunlock them and easily freeze them.
- Xenomorph Xerox: Are more than a little similar to Xenomorphs, aside from being brown and shrinking things.
Battlelord Sentries
Smaller and weaker versions of the Battlelord enemy from episode 1 of 3D.
- Degraded Boss: After the Battlelord is introduced as a Final Boss baddie at the end of L.A. Meltdown, these appear more often in Lunar Apocalypse, Shrapnel City and The Birth.
- Gatling Good: Uses a Chaingun as its main attack once the Duke is in range.
- Land Mine Goes "Click!": It can throw mines around him in order to keep the Duke at bay or in range.
- Large and in Charge: Some of the biggest aliens Duke will encounter, and with some of the highest authority among the invaders.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Explosive direct hit weapons such as the RPG and the Devastator can make quick work on them. The Shrinker can work on them too.
- The Shrinker is subjectively the best option for dealing with them as it shrinks them immediately, neutering them as a threat. The issue is that their hitboxes are odd, necessitating aiming at their feet to make it work. A player can either turn off auto-aim or rush them and hope it works.
Overlord Sentries
Smaller and weaker versions of the Overlord enemy from episode 2 of 3D. Exclusive to Duke Nukem 64 and Alien World Order.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Expander makes quick work of them.
Firefly Troopers
A more powerful variant of the Assault Aliens, found in Alien World Order. They use Incinerators in order to attack, and can shrink itself while airborne.
- Playing with Fire: They use Incinerators to burn the Duke alive. Should the Incinerator projectiles miss, they become lava pools when they touch the ground.
- Sizeshifter: They can shrink themselves and grow back to their normal size at will.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Shotgun and the RPG make quick work of them.
Cycloid Sentries
Smaller and weaker versions of the Cycloid Emperor enemy from episode 3 of 3D. Exclusive to Alien World Order.
- Boss in Mook Clothing: Appear in Alien World Order after the Cycloid Emperor goes down at the end of Shrapnel City. There are very few on them, and most are encountered on the higher difficulties.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Much like the Battlelord Sentry, the RPG, Devastator and Shrinker are your weapons of choice here.
