Webcomic Character Analysis Blog: 2024

Kit Ballard, the Trouble Breaker

Blade Kitten was created by Space Captain Steve, which can be purchased on the franchise's website

Welcome back to the blog! After practically a year I finally have a new blog post up! It was difficult regaining motivation after Imgur wiped out a lot of the scans from previous blogs, but I think I'm finally ready to start posting again. I guess you could call this a bit of a new era for my blogs. This is a special one, as it's gonna be very experimental. This is the first time I'll ever be extensively covering media outside of a webcomic. Some of you out there may have heard of the video game Blade Kitten, but what's less known is that it originated as a webcomic. As the webcomic and game are part of the same canon, I will cover both series, along with the spinoff comic Dirty Angels. Major shoutout to Robert Lee, who helped research the game side of things while I primarily researched the webcomic.

Background

"So, you want to do this the easy way or the hard way???"

The Korunda System is home to a melting pot of alien life across many planets. Among them was a feline race known as the felion. Their homeworld Midsun was massacred to near-extinction by an ancient alien race called darques. Despite how few remain now, there is one Felion that has made her mark as one of the most vexatious bounty hunters in the Korunda System. That would be the S rank breaker Kit Ballard.

Registered #K559550-BAL, Kit is a 24 year-old breaker (the term commonly used in place of bounty hunter), who fled the ruins of her planet to make a name for herself. Sure, she's often underestimate for her youthful appearance, but there's a reason why she's one of the system's most She's sharp-witted, sharp-tongued, and the only thing sharper than both of those is her signature Darque Blade. She may enjoy teasing her targets, but Kit always makes sure to turn her bounties in alive. With her animal sidekick Skiffy, they travel across worlds to seek out proper bounties. She squared off with the likes of assassins, mercenary police forces, a techno cult, and of course her fellow rival breaker Justice Kreel.

In spite of her accomplishments, she still harbors trauma from the near genocide she survived. With the threat of the darque returning, Kit is driven to ensure no one experiences the same loss she did.

Experience and Intelligence

Kit has years of experience as a breaker, and has faced a variety of powerful foes. She's no stranger to taking on large robots, fearsome monsters, and even entire armies on her own. She used to work with another breaker for many years, but she’s been doing quite well on her own three years after his death. She's not only a skilled swordswoman, but she's also a talented ship and mech pilot.

Despite what one may assume, Kit is both brains and brawn in one feisty package. She has extensive knowledge on weapons, armor, and the materials used to make them. Just with a glance, she can tell what kind of armor someone is wearing and what it's made out of.

That brings me to her observation skills. Kit is shockingly deductive, using her high perception and prior experiences to make sharp conclusions of others. For example, when it was revealed that a thief named Alamo was found posing as a notorious armored criminal—while another Alamo was out and about—Kit quickly figured out that the doppelgänger belonged to a long forgotten robotic race AND her cleverly masked intentions.

Equipment

Darque Blade

Huge props to Kit's Science Lab for such an in-depth explanation for how her blade works! If you want the short answer, the Darque Blade is a semi-sentient sword that’s as smart as a pitbull. It was previously used by the race named after it, which had massacred the Felions in the past. In the battlefield the Blade Kitten has it set to Free Mode. When activated, it floats around her and automatically slashes. It’s also handy for turning on inaccessible switches! When it's not floating about, it's in its Heel Mode, where it can be used as a handheld sword. In the game, she can buy other types of free blades that have their own stats, along with their own critical moves (later). These extra blades include:

Skiffy

Kit's animal companion. He’s able to assist her as a distraction for her opponent or just being a little scamp and stealing shit. Skiffy is also helpful in deactivating obstructive technology, flying up to pull switches in high places, or even grabbing collectibles in the foreground. He has more finesse that her Darque Blade lacks. ~~There are some occasions where she lets him use her bounties as his toilet~~

Shock Bug

A gizmo that scrambles the Central Control Line (CCL) of machinery that lets them move, sending torque spasms throughout its frame. Anything that has an Async CCL would resist its effects

The Scarab

An old-fashioned cargo vehicle Kit uses to travel terrain. It has a radar that detects locations and an advanced laser-powered handcuff system for bringing in her bounties.

The V-Dagger and The V-Blade

Both are small blades that are powered by energy. The V-Dagger looks like a conventional futuristic dagger and the V-Blade is held like a Deer Horn knife. When both are activated, they channel energy into a lethal blade shape.

Space Ship

As far as we know, this is the only one of Kit's ships that hasn't been blown to smithereens. Aside from space travel, it lacks known firepower. It does have a rope leading to its entrance for quick getaways and a communications system to talk to allies from a distance.

Mech Suit

A large mech suit I'd reckon is around 30-40 ft tall. It has a giant swords, thrusters that lets it fly, and a scanner HUD that enlarges images. The mecha runs on something called a kineshield, which I'd assume is a defense system that is drained the more damage it takes.

Energy-Based Free Blade

This one is different enough from her assortment of other blades to have its own section. It's basically a lightsaber version of her Darque Blade. With its energy-based blade, it's strong enough to cut through energy constructs.

Noot

Kit's swift alien steed capable of ramming through walls with its hard skull

Weaporium

In the menu, she has immediate access to the Weaporium, a shop ran by her money-grubbing pal ~~with a racist voice~~ Hundert Tonne. As long as she has the currency Hex on hand, she can buy food that increase her max HP and stamina, new blades, and costumes

Abilities

Catlike Agility

I'll get into some specifics in her techniques section, but it's clear that someone as feline as Kit is capable of catlike speed and agility.

Electricity Manipulation

With her Darque Blade, she's able to generate electricity

Surface Scaling

To Kit, climbing is as easy as walking. She can climb up walls and ceilings alike

Shield Generation

In the game, Kit has an infinite block that forms a shield around her when she digs her sword into the ground

Techniques

Blade Dive

A straightforward dive attack where her sword generates electricity as she thrusts it downward

Grab

The brace harsh winds, Kit can pivot her her sword into the ground and hold on tight

Slide

Kit can slide to kick her opponent or slip into areas that are hard to reach

Parry

She can parry attacks. What else needs to be said?

Double Jump

A standard in platformers, she can jump a second time while in the air

Ground Slam

A satisfying move where Kit drives her blade down to the ground from midair, creating a small shockwave around her

Fetch

Kit impales her opponent with her floating blade, brings them closer, and slashes them a bunch. She can also use fetch to remove her target's shield.

Critical Moves

When she gets all worked up, Kit can perform a super move known as a critical move. She has a few of these that mainly boil down to flippy dippy and slashes in slow motion. They aren't all that different from each other, but these critical moves include:

Flash Blade
Kick Spinner
Reverse Stabber
Double Slice
Singularity Crash

Feats

Overall

She turned in the brainwashed thief Alamo posing as the infamous criminal Kagemusha. Although a phony, she still had really impressive tech power battle skin
She’s one of the last remaining felion after most of her race was eradicated
She fought darque soldiers, the genocidal species that was believed to have been wiped out by the Army of Lithore over 500 years ago
She figured out on her own that a twin unit—of a race of robots that hasn’t been heard from in 200 years—was posing as Alamo infiltrating the kingdom after discovering who was inside Kagemusha, and bested said robot in combat, before the decoy was killed by a Gouret assassin
She survived a fight against Axael—Kagemusha’s second in command, and two other droid assassins
She and her friend Lucy narrowly escaped a surprise attack from a darque ship, that destroyed the spaceship they were working at. Afterwards, she was able to fly her pod to another planet while low on fuel—despite the pod not being made for planetfall
She escaped the Magasse Sisterhood, which she frequently stole from. In the game however, she faced monsters and avoided traps to steal a mysterious artifact FOR them
After being kidnapped and shipped off, she was able to save herself from the real Alamo, easily able to break out of her bonds, best her in combat, and tie her up in her place
Has had frequent run-ins and fights with the class one breaker Justice Kreel
She and Justice rescued the princess of Koela and stopped a clone from taking over the kingdom
Defeated Terra Li and her mech, leader of the troublesome Norteun Wolves with a bounty of 1 million hex. Winds up rescuing her and joining forces with her when she realizes they both have the same enemy
Helped prevent the darques from rising on the planetoid Hollow Wish

Strength

Speed

Durability

Weaknesses

Although a learned and seasoned breaker, she's prone to being tricked
In the game she runs on stamina

Matchup Potential

Kit Ballard vs Maeve (Blade Kitten vs Paladins)

(thumbnail by Vibe Check)

Vibe Check

Funnily enough, I thought of the similarities between them before I knew TV Tropes pointed them out on the Blade Kitten page. The matchup is simple, as both are orphaned pink-haired cat girls with comparatively catty and tomboyish personalities who operate in morally questionable fields (bounty hunting and thieving). However, what makes it stick out to me is that despite how they appear similar, their moralities are pretty different.

Since Maeve's master thief background make her more of an antagonist, the fight writes itself as a hero vs villain matchup. Maeve likely has a bounty on her head that Kit can claim. The fight can start with Maeve stealing Kit's breaker key like in the Blade Kitten game, with the fight adopting a chase dynamic. I could see it taking place in a fantastical town setting, giving the two lots of room to chase each other up buildings and structures with their catlike agility. It could feature a lot of wall-running, climbing, and the characters using the environment to their advantage like bouncing off awnings or pushing food carts (and stealing food too). I also really like the soundtrack potential, as it could combine Paladins' orchestral style and Blade Kitten's rock and synths.

As for who wins, it really depends on how high you scale Maeve to the other champions. Champions like Jenos apparently have star level feats, so Kit would definitely be a goner. I'd say it's safer to lean towards that.

NEXT TIME ON WCAB… whenever I feel like it

Monday, October 14, 2024

Kit Ballard Pounces Into DEATH BATTLE!