Watch out for spoilers!
open/close all folders
Bolverk Squad
Tropes for the team as a whole
A team of cyborgs employed by the military and science company MBORF. The main characters of the series.
- Color-Coded Characters: Omega is red, Xero is blue, Kary is green and Askad is yellow.
- Comm Links: They all appear to have one built into their bodies, allowing them to communicate with each other at any given time.
- Cyanide Pill: The Loner/Longinus knives, which each of the Cyborgs are designed to stab themselves with if they're ever damaged beyond repair, engulfing them and the surrounding area in an explosion.
- Cyborg: All of the members have some mechanical modification, except for Kary, who is a complete robot.
- Dwindling Party: Askad gets killed in the very first episode. Then Kary-08 betrays the team and gets killed off by Omega and Xero. Once that's taken care of, Xero is forced to Mercy Kill Omega when the latter is overtaken by XV. And after that's over with, Xero himself is hunted down and killed as an old man by the forces of the unseen Chessmaster behind the series.
- Powered Armor: Omega and Xero are both equipped with electrically operated armor.
Omega
Omega
The Leader of Bolverk Squad who mainly uses guns.
- Bash Brothers: With Xero, starting from Xionic Madness 3, with both often assisting each other with killing their foes.
- The Comically Serious: Omega has a very professional attitude and doesn't make time for jokes.
- Cool Helmet: Omega wears a helmet based off a Templar Knight's helmet in the first three episodes.
- Dying as Yourself: After being corrupted by XV, Omega manages to fight off XV's influence long enough for Xero to kill him.
- Enemy Within: Was secretly having an internal struggle with XV from episode 3 onwards. He manages to stall it off long enough to allow Xero to Mercy Kill him.
- Gatling Good: Attempts to defeat XV by pumping him with as many bullets as he can.
- Guns Akimbo: Wields both of the Ballisticas at the same time.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Omega ends up letting Xero kill him before XV can fully take over his body.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: Has Xero kill him as opposed to killing himself.
- The Leader: Of Bolverk Squad, as indicated by him relaying orders, calling their shots and informing them about a proposed Body-Count Competition in episode 1.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The cool blue to Xero's Hot-Blooded red, while ironically having the main color of red. Omega keeps himself professional and level-headed, preferring to keep distance (usually) and gun down his enemies.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Goes on one with Xero after Kary and MBORF betray them, gunning down any MBORF member in his way so he can get his payback against her.
Xero
Xero
A former ninja of British nationality who now works for MBORF and serves in Bolverk Squad. He's the team's melee expert and has a preference towards swords and other melee weaponry (usually blades).
- Bash Brothers: With Omega in Xionic Madness 3 and onward, with both of them teaming up to cut a bloody swathe through their enemies.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Vows at the start of episode 4 that he's going to be the one to cut Omega's head off. Despite becoming Fire-Forged Friends with Omega, he still winds up having to kill him after he gets overtaken by XV.
- Blood Knight: Kills enemy Mooks, even as they're running away from him.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: By the end of episode three, Xero's cervical armor is splattered with blood.
- British Stuffiness: The only British member of the team and by far the biggest asshole.
- Cool Sword: His arsenal primarily consists of these. Of particular note is the Red Fang which, according to its description is a sword that generates a blade using the user's blood.
- Doesn't Like Guns: While he's unmatched in terms of melee combat, Xero is unable to use firearms.
- Dual Wielding: When going into battle, he's usually seen carrying more than one weapon with him, making him a force to be reckoned with thanks to his varied arsenal. Certain weapons he has, such as the Boomknives and APS also come in pairs.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Starts off disliking Omega though after being betrayed by their employer and locked up, escaping and fighting through an entire army of soldiers, as well as their own robot doubles, he and Omega bond.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Xero is prone to profanity, insults, rude gestures and fighting recklessly, but he does have a heart. He's good friends with Omega and won't kill someone if they're unarmed.
- The Lancer: More hot-blooded with Omega and actively feuds with him.
- The Last Dance: Once he and Enid are cornered in the Distant Finale, Xero is certain he won't escape alive. So he might as well die "in the heat of a glorious battle."
- Like Brother and Sister: He apparently had this with Kary as a result of him carrying her when she was unconscious and arguing over his injuries. He was also disgusted by her betrayal.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Hot-Blooded red to Omega's cool blue, while ironically having blue as his primary color. He's a foul-mouthed Hot-Blooded British ninja who doesn't really care about the stealth part and really just prefers getting up close and personal. Later on though his armors get drenched with blood (either his own or his enemies).
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Goes on one with Omega after Kary and MBORF betray them, cutting down everyone hostile to him and Omega with the end goal of punishing Kary for her betrayal.
- Scarf of Asskicking: Gains one with his Cervical Armor and he's just as if not even more deadlier than ever, although it ends up being disintegrated after surviving a few explosions.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Xero cusses a lot. More often than any other character in the series.
- Sole Survivor: By the time of the epilogue, Xero is the final member of Bolverk Squad still alive, with the other 3 having died at each other's hands.
Kareleinne- 08
Kareleinne-08
An android created by Askad who uses energy attacks. Using her gloves, she can siphon energy from her victims and use that to power her core.
- Action Girl: The most powerful member of the team, thanks to her energy abilities.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: She chooses to kill herself with the Longinus Knife rather than suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of XV.
- The Big Guy: By far the strongest member of the team.
- Clipped-Wing Angel: Invoked by Askad, who suspected Kary-08 was working against the team and set up a final "upgrade" for her that actually restricted her powers.
- Cool Mask: The Executioner's Mask, which increase her strength at the cost of a good sum of her energy supply.
- The Dragon: She's the Overseer's last line of defense against Omega and Xero, and a key part in his plans.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Askad ponders whether she truthfully obeys the Overseer's orders or does only what she sees fit. Ultimately, when she realizes that the Overseer's goals don't align with hers, she does away with him.
- Evil Costume Switch: Dons a darker and more revealing outfit after her treachery is revealed.
- Goggles Do Nothing: She wears goggles on her forehead, but never puts them on.
- Green and Mean: The very first thing we see her, the green-associated member of the team, do (and the first kill of the series) is claw a non-hostile receptionist in the face. She doesn't get any better from there — turning out to be a traitor, betraying and killing the Overseer, and ultimately deciding to kill everyone so that she can achieve immortality from their life force.
- Imagination-Based Superpower: Kary can use the energy she gains from killing people in almost anyway she wants.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Lacks the facial cross most Madness Combat characters have, has a sharper and less rounded face, as well as eyes and a mouth. Though this may be due to the fact that she is an android.
- Omnicidal Maniac: After going crazy, she decides to kill everybody so she can use their energy to live forever.
- The Starscream: Kary does away with the Overseer after she realizes he doesn't intend to hold up his end of their agreement.
- Superpower Lottery: She can do almost anything with the energy she collects, including things such as raising an undead army.
- Token Minority: The only female of the team, as well as the only non-cyborg to have a Non-Standard Character Design. And the only one to be a Turncoat.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Needs Askad to perform regular check-ups on her to keep her from going insane because of how powerful she is. Meaning that, once Askad is killed, she winds up going off the deep end.
Askad
Askad
A tech-savvy member of the group who uses explosive weapons.
- Back from the Dead: He comes back as a robot in Episode 4 to aid Omega and Xero in their fight against Kary.
- Brain Uploading: His robot clone seems to have been programmed with his consciousness.
- Fatherly Scientist: Regards Kary as his daughter, likely due to her being based of his actual, deceased one.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He's responsible for most of the teams' tech.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Twice! First he sacrifices himself to take out a group of lifeforms infected with the XV Virus. Then, he comes back as a robot and sacrifices himself to give Omega and Xero a chance to defeat Kary.
- Morality Chain: His check-ups are the only measure to prevent Kary from going insane due to her powers. When he dies, it doesn't take long for her to ultimately decide to kill everyone.
- Number Two: Apparently Omega's second-in-command according to the bios.
- Posthumous Narration: He narrates the bios in episode 3.
- Sacrificial Lion: Gets killed off in episode 1.
- The Smart Guy: Skilled with computers and armed with explosives.
- Weak, but Skilled: The least strongest member of the group, but skilled with explosives and technology.
MBORF
Tropes for the organization as a whole
A mysterious company that specializes in military and science. They serve as the creators and employers of Bolverk Squad.
- All There in the Manual: The organization is only named in the character bios for Xionic Madness 3.
- Nebulous Evil Organization: Not much is revealed about them, and it's never really explained what they do.
- N.G.O. Superpower: They have access to highly advanced technology and enough resources to maintain a small army.
The Overseer
The Overseer
The mysterious leader of MBORF and the one Bolverk Squad answers to.
- Bad Boss: Imprisons Omega and Xero just so he can replace them with robotic duplicates. He later has no problem sending his own soldiers out to die just so he can collect data for said robotic clones.
- Big Bad: Responsible for many of problems in the series, though he doesn't take center stage until Xionic Madness 3. He's also indirectly responsible for Kary going insane.
- Diabolical Mastermind: Head of Nebulous Evil Organization? Check. Manipulative Bastard? Check. Cool Scar? Check.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a scar running down the left side of his face.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Had the Overseer not sent Askad on a mission to be killed, then Kary probably wouldn't have gone insane and rebelled against him.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He's never seen doing anything physical himself, and in fact never confronts Omega and Xero face to face in the series.
- Treacherous Questgiver: Sends the squad on a Suicide Mission to BIO INT in the hopes that they'll be killed so he can replace them with the O. and X. Projects.
- Uriah Gambit: Has Bolverk Squad go on a Suicide Mission to BIO INT so he can replace them with mindless robots.
- Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about without spoiling the fact that he's the Big Bad.
- Xanatos Gambit: Sends Bolverk Squad on a suicide mission to BIO INT, intending for all of them (except Kary) to be killed so he can replace them with mindless robots. Should they all survive, he would have Kary attack and capture the survivors.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: After Omega and Xero escape, he sends out his forces to fight Omega and Xero to collect data for their robot replacements. After his soldiers fail to defeat the two, he downloads the data collected from the battle into Omega and Xero's robot counterparts and have them take the two cyborgs out.
- You Have Out Lived Your Usefulness: Imprisons Omega and Xero right after they complete their mission. It's implied he would have disposed of Kary-08 too had she not killed him first.
O. Project and X. Project
O. Project and X. Project
Two autonomous duplicates of Omega and Xero created by the Overseer to replace them in Bolverk Squad.- Dual Wielding: Just like Xero, the X. Project dual wields the boomknives and different blades.
- Guns Akimbo: Like Omega, the O. Project dual wields the Ballisticas.
- Implacable Man: They shrug off any attack Omega and Xero through at them, forcing the two cyborgs to use their Longinus Knives to defeat them.
- Mirror Match: An interesting case, while they wore the armor that Omega and Xero had in their last mission with MBORF. Their arsenal mainly consists of the weaponry Omega and Xero currently have, both of them are also able to match any attack Omega and Xero can throw at them.
Omicron Squad
Omicron Squad
A squad of Rank 4 Soldiers Omega previously served in before being converted into a cyborg and made the leader of Bolverk Squad. Omicron Squad is comprised of Specter, Wraith, Daemon and Shade.
- The Atoner: They regret continuing to serve the Overseer after he betrayed Omega, and later make up for it by helping him and Xero in their fight against Kary.
- Badass Boast: Specter is prone to delivering these.
Specter: What's the situation?
Xero: She's fucking kicking our asses! That's the situation.
Specter: We'll have to kick hers harder then.
Xero: She's fucking kicking our asses! That's the situation.
Specter: We'll have to kick hers harder then.
- Badass Normal: Despite being essentially just a squad of Elite Mooks, they are more than capable of keeping up with Omega and Xero, two Cyborgs with Powered Armor.
- Heroic Sacrifice: They all sacrifice themselves to destroy the building Omega was holding up.
- The Leader: Specter appeared to have been made leader after Omega was transferred to Bolverk Squad.
- Mook–Face Turn: They all go to assist Omega in his battle with Kary-08 to atone for betraying him.
- The Voiceless: Shade never talks in the series, and his profile mentions he is mute.
MBORF Soldiers
MBORF Soldiers
MBORF employs a variety of Mooks to carry out missions.
- All There in the Manual: The names of the different soldiers are given away in the character bios for Xionic Madness 3.
- Cannon Fodder: Rank 1 Soldiers are the lowest ranked and specialize in dealing in with minor conflicts like civilian control. This doesn't stop them from being sent out to fight Omega and Xero when they break out. Although granted both of them didn't have any armor when they broke out.
- Elite Mooks: Rank 3 Soldiers have more equipment and training than Rank 1 and Rank 2 Soldiers. Then there's Rank 4 Soldiers, who have even more skills and weapons than Rank 3s.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Spartan Soldiers are sword-wielding mooks equipped with (almost) invulnerable shields.
- Mecha-Mooks: The Leviathans, Fenixes and K.I.R.B.Y.s are all robots that specialize in combat.
- Shout-Out: One of the Mecha Mook types is a rotund robot named K.I.R.B.Y.
- Teleportation: Vorpal Soldiers have the ability to teleport through the use of special devices. It makes them decent opponents against cervical armor users but not by much.
Other
BIO INT
BIO INT
Another mysterious company and the apparent rival of MBORF.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Along with XV they are the primary threat Bolverk Squad in the first few episodes. They later wind up having to share the spot with the Red & Green Spy Teams as well when they are sent in.
- Cannon Fodder: BIO INT security guards, whose only defense against Bolverk Squad are clubs.
- The Ghost: Their chief, Charles Smith, is mentioned only once on a computer screen, when Xero accesses his files.
- Mooks: They utilize Security Guards and later Black Ops Commandos to fight our protagonists.
- Nebulous Evil Organization: Not much is known about them, other than the fact that they're studying XV and that they're an enemy of MBORF.
XV
XV
A mysterious alien life form discovered by BIO INT. XV can copy others weapons and abilities, as well as infect other lifeforms with a virus.- Big Bad Ensemble: XV and its spawn are as much a threat to our protagonists in the first 3 episodes as BIO INT and defeating it is one of their two objectives (the other one being blowing up BIO INT's headquarters).
- Chekhov's Gun: Its virus infects Omega later in the series.
- Eldritch Abomination: It's an extra-terrestrial life form that's virtually invincible and capable of copying others' abilities.
- Evil Twin: After copying enough of Omega's DNA, it gradually starts to turn into a clone of him.
- Logical Weakness: Copying Omega's DNA also makes it vulnerable to Omega's Suicide Pill, the Loner knife.
- Power Copying: Capable of copying the abilities of anyone it comes into contact with. This includes technology, as shown when it copies several weapons in Omega's arsenal.
- Villainous Rescue: Winds up unintentionally saving Xero after it takes control of Omega and defeats Kareleinne-08. Of course, once it's done with that, it goes after Xero.
Red & Green Spy Teams
A team of spies sent in to eliminate XV and Bolverk Squad.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Join XV and BIO INT as foes of Bolverk Squad in the "XV termination" arc.
- Mêlée à Trois: Enter the fight with the intention of taking on BIO INT, Bolverk Squad and XV.
- Shout-Out: The green spies' goggles are an obvious reference to Sam Fischer from the Splinter Cell series.
Enid
Enid
An apprentice taken by Xero at some point after his and Omega's battle with Kary-08.- Last Episode, New Character: Introduced in the final few minutes before the end of episode 4 part 3.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Like Kary-08, she has having eyes and a mouth and a sharper, less-rounded face as opposed to the standard Madness Combat character design.
- Sole Survivor: She's the last surviving named character by the end of Xionic Madness 4.
