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Jimmy Lee (ジミー・リー Jimī Rī?), originally known in the West by the localized nickname of "Spike",[1] is one of the two main protagonists of Technōs' Double Dragon series of beat 'em up games. He is the twin brother, training partner and in some occasions even rival of Billy Lee. He is a master of Sou-Setsu-Ken, a legendary Chinese martial art which he mastered at a young age.

Despite their differences, he is always ready to tag along with his brother whenever trouble arises; more so if it involves a good fight. In more than one occasion he has fought Billy for the affections of their mutual friend, Marian.

While Jimmy is traditionally portrayed as a protagonist for most of the series, fighting evil alongside his twin brother, he has also been portrayed as an antagonist in a few notable works.

History and appearances

Double Dragon

Arcade

One of the Lee brothers, who is also a Sou-Setsu-Ken master. He is out to crush the Black Warriors with his twin brother, Billy. However, he may have his own hidden agenda as well.

NES

In the NES version, Jimmy is secretly the Shadow Boss,[2] leader of the Black Warriors. Whereas the original arcade version had both Lee brothers working together to fight against the Black Warriors in order to rescue their female friend Marian, in the NES version Billy fights completely alone and Jimmy only shows up to confront him at the end, after Willy (the leader of the gang in the arcade version) is defeated by the player.

Presumably, this change in the story was done due to developer Technōs Japan's inexperience with the NES hardware at the time, making it difficult for them to work around the console's limitations and properly implement a two-player cooperative mode in the game's conversion. The game's title having the adverb "double" in it wouldn't have made much sense with just one of the Lee brothers in the game, so they made the other one into a bad guy. While the arcade version did feature a fight between both brothers at the end, it was an optional battle that only occurred if both players defeated Willy together, and was simply a contest over who would win Marian's affections. The game's sequels on the same platform, Double Dragon II and III, both included their own two-player co-op modes, thus having both Lee brothers as heroes again. Jimmy's change of status from an antagonist to a protagonist in the NES versions of the sequels was left unexplained.

Double Dragon II: The Revenge

Billy's twin brother. Like him, Jimmy is also a legendary master of Sou-Setsu-Ken. Although he helped his brother crush the Black Warriors during the first game, he also had feelings for Marian and that developed a rivalry between the two brothers. He now joins Billy in a quest to avenge the woman they both loved. Jimmy is Player 2 and wears white clothing in the original arcade version and direct ports of the game. In the NES port, he wears red.

Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone

Billy's older brother taken by the Shadow Warriors before Billy was born.[citation needed] He and Billy were responsible for the downfall of the original Black Warriors gang a few years ago and the defeat of their leader, Willy. Since then, they went on a training mission to complete their Sou-Setsu-Ken, and two years later they are now on a worldwide hunt for the Rosetta Stones.

Super Double Dragon

The other half of the Double Dragons. He opened the Sou-Setsu-Ken Dojo in Los Angeles with his younger brother. He uses the northern-style of Sou-Setsu-Ken, which focuses on powerful techniques.

Double Dragon (Game Gear)

In the Game Gear version of Double Dragon, Jimmy is said to have been killed by a gang called the "Dragon Lords". However, it is eventually revealed that he's still alive, although under mind control, and acts as the final boss of the game, known as the "Black Samurai".

Battletoads/Double Dragon

Billy's twin brother, who is also a Sou-Setsu-Ken master.

  • Height: 5′ 10″
  • Weight: 170 lbs.
  • Color: Red
  • Hair: Blond or dark brown
  • Date of birth: 7-28-70-Leo

Double Dragon (animated series)

Jimmy (voiced by Scott McNeil) is Billy's twin brother. Although his face is similar to John's, he has blond hair like his mother Marika.

The animated series loosely adapts the plot of the NES version for its first two episodes, having Jimmy as the show's initial antagonist. Prior to the events of the first episode, the Lee brothers were separated at birth after Jimmy was kidnapped from the hospital by his half-uncle, the Shadow Master, along with his mother. In order to save Jimmy's life, Marika agreed to enter the Abyss inside the Shadow Dojo. The Shadow Master then raised Jimmy as his own son and trained him in the way of the Black Flame, while Billy was raised by their father's sensei, the Oldest Dragon.

When the twins reached the age of 18, Billy inherited the title of "Dragon Master", becoming wielder of the legendary Dragon Sword, while Jimmy was already active as the Shadow Boss, the Shadow Master's second-in-command and wielder of the Shadow Sword. Jimmy became aware of his twin brother when the latter began foiling his criminal goals. Likewise, Billy eventually learned the truth about Jimmy and tried to convince him to change his ways. When the Shadow Master betrayed Jimmy by ordering his assassination due to his failure to recover the Dragon Sword, and after Billy saved him, he abandoned his evil ways and joined forces with Billy. The Oldest Dragon then appeared at the ruins of the Dragon Dojo and taught the brothers how to transform into the "Double Dragons". The Dragon Sword then split into two, giving Jimmy his own sword. Jimmy wielded the Dragon Claw daggers with his brother for a short while and was later given new armor by Kami. However, this armor was blue on the outside rather than red, and instead of wielding his Dragon Sword, Jimmy shoots energy beams (or perhaps flames) from a dragon-looking blaster on his arm.

Jimmy is hotheaded and often speaks more like a street-smart brawler than an enlightened warrior. For instance, instead of "calling upon the Double Dragon" birthmark to guide him somewhere, he will instead order the "scaly one" to "lead us to the butt we wish to kick". Because of his 'Shadow' training, he is somewhat knowledgeable about the Shadow Master's organization and utilizes a more aggressive fighting style than Billy. At times, he clashes with other personalities, such as Marian or the hacker Megabyte; however, he eventually calms down and befriends those who are on the same side.

Double Dragon (film)


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Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls

Twin brother of Billy and annoying counterpoint to Billy's good qualities. Jimmy has a run a way mouth that has become encumbered with his feet on more than one occasion. Spends a lot of time in front of the mirror.
~ Profile description from the Double Dragon V manual
Dossier
  • Date of birth: 10-23-69
  • Height: 6′ 1″
  • Weight: 205 lbs.
  • Eyes: Blue
  • Hair: Blond
  • Likes: Video games
  • Dislikes: Bad hair days
  • Origin: Metro City
  • Fighting style: Shadow Dragon

Double Dragon (Neo Geo)

A master of "Sousetsuken", he runs a dojo with his younger brother, Billy. Unlike the quick and agile Billy, his expertise is in heavy and powerful offensive moves. Being well aware of Shuko's powers, Jimmy attempts to stop Billy from attacking the evil organizations, and he unwillingly heads for Bloody Town.

Personality

Jimmy, is a serious fighter who is mature and deeply emotional due to their master's death, and concerns about the medal's powers, as seen in their endings after defeating Koga Shuko. Jimmy truly cares for his younger twin brother, Billy, evidenced in his win quotes against him, and he also has strictness when fighting his opponents. Just like Amon, he detests fighting women (excluding Marian), as evidenced in his win quote against Rebecca, only for her to respond in her win quote against him.

Personal data
  • Voice: Kaneto Shiozawa
  • Birthplace: Los Angeles
  • Height: 5′ 9″
  • Weight: 161 lbs.
  • Date of birth: 7-28-70
  • Fighting style: Sousetsuken
  • Hobbies: Training

Double Dragon Advance

Jimmy Lee - The older of the Lee brothers, Jimmy is high-spirited and possesses strength beyond compare. He co-founded Sōsetsuken with his younger brother Billy, and was the instructor at their dojo prior to the war. Rumored to surpass even Billy in martial arts skill, Jimmy likes spending his time studying Eastern philosophy.

Profile
  • Height: 176 cm
  • Weight: 75 kg
  • Fighting style: Sousetsuken
  • Specialties: Punches and double kali sticks
  • Hobbies: Literature and weight training
  • Favorite books: "Miyamoto Musashi", "The Book of Five Rings"

Double Dragon (mobile)

Hates to train and often skips out to take his cherished car for a spin. He keeps his feelings for Marian hidden.
~ Official description
Personal data
  • Age: 25
  • Height: 180 cm
  • Weight: 81 kg
  • Hobbies: Driving

Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons

He was in love with Marian and embarks on a journey with his brother to avenge her, as she has just died.

The older twin of Billy, he is the same as his brother but has a different hairstyle and clothes to be differentiated from him.

Once he was a rival in love with his brother, but now he leaves together with him to avenge the woman he once loved.[6]

Profile
  • Body type: Man A
  • Gender: Male
  • Age: 25
  • Personality: A chivalrous, determined character not to be shaken. Same as Billy.
  • Features: Sōsetsuken, jealous of Billy.

Double Dragon IV

Billy's older brother. Jimmy works to preserve peace by building Sōsetsuken dojos all across the US.
~ Official description

Other appearances and cameos

Rock'n Game Boy

A manga about a group of gaming enthusiasts trying to stop an evil organization in their attempt to conquer the world. The Lee brothers, Billy and Jimmy Lee, from Double Dragon fame, are featured as part of the storyline.

Kunio-kun series

Billy and Jimmy are referenced in the Technōs' Kunio-kun franchise by a pair of recurring characters known as the "Dragon Twins", Ryūichi and Ryūji Hattori, with Ryūji being inspired on Jimmy. The iconic "Double Dragon" theme even plays whenever they are fought in most games in the franchise.

In Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai, Ryūji can perform the Hyper Uppercut from Double Dragon II: The Revenge. This likely led to Jimmy's fighting style in Super Double Dragon being centered on punches.

A character named Jimmy appears as a member of Team Oklahoma in Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku! Harukanaru Kin Medal. Originally, it was unclear if this character was a younger Jimmy Lee, but the release of River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~ establishes that they are the same character. The character is a palette swap of Ryūichi with brunette colored hair and lower stats, but has the same moves as Ryūichi. The character re-appears in Super Dodgeball Brawlers, River City Super Sports Challenge, River City Melee: Battle Royal Special and River City Melee Mach!!

Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shōbu da! Kunio-kun was the first game in the Kunio-kun franchise to depict the Dragon Twins with actual faces, instead of the faces that Billy and Jimmy used in the NES version of Double Dragon, though artwork of the series does show their faces. In this game, Ryūji is blond, like Jimmy in most games.

After the release of Double Dragon IV, Ryūji is now based on Billy Lee, with Ryūichi being based on Jimmy Lee, thus the elder Hattori is now inspired on the elder Lee brother. No changes were made to the Dragon Twins' moves or hair color, Double Dragon IV simply switched Jimmy's specialization from punches to kicks.

In River City: Rival Showdown, Ryūichi's (named Randy in the Western versions of the game, just like in other localized games in the franchise) strongest special move is the "Red Dragon Incarnation". He increases his speed and power to levels that only Jimmy Lee is able to attain.

Super Spike V'Ball

The NES port of the game features Billy and Jimmy as playable characters.

Notes

  • Most manuals for the games that comprise the Double Dragon series (as well as its spinoffs), including their releases on diverse platforms, coincide that Billy and Jimmy Lee are in fact twin brothers. However, some discrepancies can be found among the documentations for certain releases:
    • The manuals for the NES, Game Boy and ZX Spectrum versions of Double Dragon II only call them 'brothers', without ever stating if they are twins, or clarifying who is the older brother and who is the younger one.
    • The manual for Double Dragon III for the NES never mentions what's the relation between Billy and Jimmy, although since this game is a direct sequel to Acclaim's Double Dragon II, it can be assumed that it follows the same continuity and terminology.
    • In the manual for Super Double Dragon, they aren't stated to be twins at all, and instead Billy is stated to be the younger brother and Jimmy the older one.
    • The manual for Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls retakes the brothers' relationship as twins, although it adds the fact that Billy was born first and Jimmy later.
      • Since Double Dragon V is directly based on the lore from the Double Dragon animated series, it can be assumed that this is also the case for the latter.

Gallery

Artworks and portraits

Sprites and models

Miscellaneous

Trivia

  • In the original arcade version of Double Dragon, Jimmy has brown hair and wears red clothes, while Billy has blond hair and wears blue clothes. Later on in the series, both characters switched hair colors (with a few exceptions where Jimmy is once again seen with brown hair), and in some cover artworks and promotional materials, Jimmy is even seen wearing blue clothes while Billy is the one who wears red ones.
  • In the NES version of Double Dragon, Jimmy was revealed to be the main antagonist of the game, the "Shadow Boss",[2] although he became Billy's ally in following installments.
  • The instruction manual for the Game Boy port of Double Dragon copies the plot blurb from the NES version and refers to Jimmy as the "Shadow Boss". Despite this, Jimmy never appears in the single player mode, as the game ends after defeating Willy, like in the arcade version (while the game does feature a two-player game through use of the Game Link, only the VS Mode similar to that from the NES version is available, where both players take control of Billy and Jimmy in a one-on-one arena match).
  • The manual for the Genesis port incorrectly identifies Willy as Jimmy, possibly due to the author mixing up the differing storylines of the arcade and NES versions, despite Willy looking nothing like the Lee brothers.
  • The handheld LCD game and board game versions of Double Dragon, produced by Tiger Electronics, both reference Jimmy as an antagonist rather than going by the arcade version's storyline.
  • In the Neo Geo fighting game, Jimmy's moves are fire based, as opposed to Billy's moves which are lightning based.
  • In Double Dragon Neon, Jimmy was voiced by Jeff Luke, who also voiced Billy in that game.
  • The character Ryūji from the Kunio-kun franchise of beat 'em up games (which in turn directly inspired the creation of the Double Dragon series) is loosely based on Jimmy Lee. The iconic "Double Dragon" theme even plays whenever he and his twin brother, Ryūichi, appear, and both are often referred to as the "Dragon Twins".
    • However, after the release of Double Dragon IV, Ryūji was instead based on Billy Lee, although in Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san!, Ryūji was once again based on Jimmy Lee. This was intentional, as Hiroyuki Sekimoto was the director of Stay Cool, and Jimmy has fashioned blond hair in all the Double Dragon games directed by him; but in the game, Ryūji is described as having a hot-headed personality, which fits with Jimmy in River City: Rival Showdown, but is a contrast to his personality in Double Dragon Advance and Double Dragon IV.
  • Jimmy appears in River City Girls as the owner for Crosstown District's dojo. He was voiced by Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson in this game.
  • Jimmy's last name "Lee" comes from Bruce Lee.
  • Jimmy could possibly have been inspired by the character Ajax from the 1979 gangs-themed drama film The Warriors.
  • Jimmy (or at least his first Famicom version and later iterations) may also be inspired by either Rei or Raoh from the manga/anime series Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star).
    • Further supporting this possible reference, the cover artwork of the Famicom port of Double Dragon bears an artstyle reminiscent to that usually seen in said series.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Spike" was Taito's localized name for Jimmy Lee in the original arcade version of Double Dragon. The name can be seen tattooed on his arm in diverse promotional artworks for the game.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Billy must pursue the gang through the slums, factories, and wooded outskirts of the city to reach the hideout for his final confrontation with the Shadow Boss... his brother Jimmy!" - Excerpt from the English manual of the NES version of Double Dragon, page 4.
  3. Magazine advertisement for the Double Dragon LCD handheld console by Tiger Electronics.
  4. In Super Double Dragon, it is stated that the Lee brothers have established their training school, the Sou-Setsu-Ken Dojo, in Los Angeles (although later games establish they have opened several dojos all across the United States). They presumably either were born in China and raised up in the United States, or they are descendants of a Chinese family naturalized in the U.S.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Only in the animated series and not considered to take part in the established canon.
  6. An Introduction to Characters | Main Character at The Legend of Fighting Action Game: Double Dragon II.
  7. Traced from drawings of Billy and Jimmy Lee by Koji Ogata which first appeared on the spine of the Famicom packaging of Double Dragon II: The Revenge.

External links

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