« The "Andy"
As just about everyone on this forum knows, Andy's not the brightest wrench in the shed. Let's not get into details on how dumb this kid is. Let's discuss the reasons why he is what he is. Andy is a Commanding Officer for the Orange Star Army. Strange, isn't it? They let some idiot kid take charge on the battlefield. Well, based on his performances in two major wars (the war in Omega Land doesn't really count), it wasn't all that bad an idea. But really... what's so special about that? Let's tackle this one point at a time.
Andy is a 100/100 CO, meaning his troops are nothing special. They're the staple of combat. Most other COs specialize in certain troops, terrains, etc. What does this say about him as a CO? Not much... he's got the fundamentals of troop management down and he can handle any battlefield. This kind of flexibility ensures that Andy's got a chance in any situation. Other COs tend to have some sort of glaring weakness.
Next up is Andy's CO Powers. He specializes in repairing and healing his troops. Let's compare him to a certain Rubinelle CO. Captain Brenner's CO Power is, essentially, a quick search-and-rescue, some field medical treatment, followed by the battles of the day. Now compare Andy to the owner of Intelligent Defense Systems, Dr. Caulder. Caulder has no CO Power, but instead relies on his incredible CO Zone. Caulder can give his troops an immense boost to both offense, defense, and repair them for as much as Hyper Repair can. This seems like a completely obvious connection.
But let's go deeper into the CO Power topic. Most other COs use inspiration as their Power. Let's face it, Sami could just yell at her infantry units. Eagle could just order a second attack. Kanbei, Max, Jake, Grit, Grimm, Lash... a whole lot of CO Powers can be properly described as a motivational boost. Some CO Powers are harder to explain, like Drake's wave summoning, Colin's Power of Money, and Andy's Powers. Let's face it, Brenner's no Andy. 3 HP seems like stretching it when it comes to search-and-rescue and field medic work. But Andy's... seems like magic. His troops inexplicably repair their vehicles. 5 HP is two-three troops/vehicles (5 if we're using Dual Strike troop numbers). That's a lot of scrounging and Nascar-esque repairing. Sounds a lot like Caulder's insane CO Zone; unexplainable and effective.
Alright, let's head back to Andy's social skills and his abilities as a CO. As stated before, Andy ain't too great with other people. He's got friends, sure, but he probably doesn't fit in too well regardless. I guess it's that glaring lack of intelligence. And yet Andy is a successful CO. Let's go back to AW1, in which the Orange Star Army employed an adviser (the player). You weren't just Andy's adviser; you were with all three active COs through the entire campaign. In AW2 and onward, the adviser was no longer needed, and the Orange Star COs used their own wits to make decisions. What I'm implying is that Andy is smart enough to win battles.
Sound familiar? Andy's starting to sound a lot like Penny. A little girl with a pair of teddy bears manages to lead an effective army. She's anti-social, a little insane, and one hell of a CO. Could say the same about most of Caulder's clone babies. Each has their own personality, moral standpoint, and are all effective on the battlefield. Isabella was a walking wealth of military knowledge. Could the same be said about Andy? Penny uses her bears as an emotional crutch. Andy could be doing the same with his pair of wrenches, but to a much lesser extent. Cyrus is quite different from his father, and Andy appears to be, as well. Tabitha... eh, I got nuthin'.
Before we move on to crazier stuff, let's sum up all this.
- Andy is an effective CO, despite appearing to be less intelligent than the other COs.
- Andy's CO Power is very similar to Caulder's CO Zone, which is unique compared to most other COs.
- Andy shares similarities with Caulder's other clone children.
The Orange Star Administration
Let's face it, Orange Star's got the most loose military protocols of the four allied nations. Just how young are their COs? Sure, other countries have their young'uns. Colin of Blue Moon, Sonja of Yellow Comet, but both are very special cases. Colin hails from one of the richest families in the entirety of Blue Moon; he could just buy a victory. Sonja is the daughter of the emperor of Yellow Comet; methinks that gives plenty of freedom to do whatever the hell she wants. But Andy, Jake, Rachel, hell I'm sot even sure Sami and Max are considerably old. What gives?
We could assume Max was chosen as COs due to his immense natural skill... or something like that. Rachel and Sami are probably older and more battle-ready than they look, and Jake is an up-and-coming cadet. Where does that leave Andy? Maybe he was a cadet like Jake, or just naturally talented like Max. Either way, it's a little odd that he managed to snag a position like that. Once again, this may be due to his clone status. Caulder may have given Andy the same military expertise as his other children. Using that, despite his lackluster social skills, Andy managed to prove he was capable of commanding an army.
Now to start backing up theory with theory. In AW: Dual Strike, several new units were introduced from the Allied Nations. The Megatank, Stealth Fighter, and Aircraft Carrier are all the newest units created and fielded by the Allied Nations. It was stated during the campaign that Jess of Green Earth was the designer of the Megatank. But who designed the Stealth Fighter and Carrier? In the mission that introduced them, only Rachel seemed to be in the know. She introduced the new units and gave the other COs a tutorial. That implies that Orange Star created the other two new units. That may not be the case, but this is why I stated that I am backing up theory with theory. You may ignore this at your leisure.
Anyway, if Orange Star was indeed the country that invented these new units, who could have made them? Jake and Rachel are totally out, since they're busy fighting a war. Max and Sami hardly seem the type to invent groundbreaking new units. Hachi, the former Commader-in-Chief of Orange Star, probably would not have the clearance to even peek into Orange Star R&D. That leaves Nell and Andy. Nell is probably not the culprit; being commander-in-chief means she's way too busy with taking care of her country. So in all likeliness, either Andy invented the Stealth and Carrier, or it was all Orange Star R&D with no outside influences. But hey, if Jess had to help make the Megatank, it might be fair to assume Andy had to step in and help push development of the Stealth and Carrier. So, just how does a kid, who doesn't specialize in any particular form of combat, invent two high-end units?
Now to sum up this section before moving on.
- Andy's talent gained him a spot as CO.
- Andy may have invented two bleeding-edge units.
Caulder Around the World
As a (in)famous scientist, we can assume Dr. Caulder has seen his fair share of the world. As a scientist, he seeks to learn all he can, morals be damned. In all likeliness, the good doctor has gotten his hands dirty in the Great Wars of Cosmo, Macro, and Omega Lands. This might explain Andy's origin, as well.
In the beginning, Orange Star was being invaded by their neighbor country, Blue Moon. In defense of their homeland, three COs rose to the challenge. Andy, Max, and Sami bravely led their forces to repel Blue Moon, through Yellow Comet and Green Earth, all to confront an alien threatening the world. Isn't that... fascinating? Countless lives must have been lost in this struggle and all for differing reasons. Blue Moon sought to conquer Orange Star. Green Earth sought revenge against Orange Star for ravaging their country. Yellow Comet attempted to repel invaders (I'm sure bringing an entire darn army through another's borders counts, even if no fighting was intended). Orange Star lunged for the head of the beast. So... what better way to investigate such an enormous, complicated war than to plant an eye witness in the ranks? It wouldn't be hard; wipe clone #?'s memory, have him live in Orange Star, get him into military school, implant a little patriotism for the awesome Star, feign death at the hands of the vicious Blue Moon invaders, and watch what happens. This, of course, demands immense foresight. But, if Caulder saw Sturm coming before the Great War broke out...
In AW2, the Black Hole Army is bolstered with new COs, their own troops, and a new, shinier tank. It is at this point where Caulder may introduce mechanized troops. No, not Mechs as in bazookas. In Days of Ruin, Dr. Morris mentions that automated combat units were used in the war between Rubinelle and Lazuria. Perhaps the same premise applied in past AW's. Black Hole sports new units and, more importantly, new properties. The factory, the source of most of Black Hole's manpower, can crank out a ton of units to be deployed anywhere. One of these factories was built in each country, for each CO attempting to conquer said countries. Perhaps a Caulder intervention to even the odds? Why not? It would make a good experiment, seeing as the four countries are now appearing to be leaning toward an alliance. Why not even the odds and see what happens?
Now we move on to AW:DS. If anyone payed attention to the battle animations, you'll notice something the past AWs didn't have: A LOT more troops. In the past and in Days of Ruin, one vehicle or soldier represented 2 HP of that unit. In Dual Strike, one vehicle/trooper represented 1 HP. In Dual Strike, both sides had more troops to use, and if one side did not adjust from 5-man squads to 10-man, that side would be at a serious numerical disadvantage. Black Hole once again fields a way to mas-produce troops. Now, seeing as Caulder is running IDS, he could stand to profit from all this. This theory states that in the war of Omega Land, the Allied Nations used automated troops produced from normal factories.
One final thing to mention before we wrap this all up. The similarities between some AW:DS and AW:DoR units might be due to Caulder's findings. Assuming he did play a role in the Great Wars, Caulder may have researched ways to alter the Allied Nations' new units. For example, the Wartank may just be a cheaper, more cost-effective version of the Megatank. The Carrier may have changed from primarily anti-air to primarily air support. Also, because of the post-apocalyptic setting of Days of Ruin, older weapons see re-deployment. Anti-tank units, which are notably fragile against infantry, are used. Dusters, which were probably actual dust cropping planes, are outfitted with machine guns.
Now to summarize all this crazy stuff about Caulder.
- Caulder may have left a clone in Orange Star for research purposes. This clone came to be known as Andy.
- Caulder probably assisted both sides in order to gather more data.
- The new units of Days of Ruin are part science, part economics, and part refurbishing.
To Clone a Clone
In three of four Advance Wars games, clones have been used by the Black Hole Army. Now, there's a lot to say about this topic, but if these games have told me anything, it's that cloning's fricken insane. Let's discuss the extensive use of clones and something Dr. Morris mentions that could be of great importance.
In the original Advance Wars, a clone of Andy is created and sent to wreak havoc in Green Earth. This clone was created by Black Hole as a means to some end. It worked, Eagle got stomped, and the story goes on. Now, this clone didn't seem to have much emotion, not like Caulder's kids. He was also pretty loyal to his cause. After his final battle, this clone died. In Dual Strike, four clones are employed by the Bolt Guard: Andy, Olaf, Drake, and Kanbei. In all likeliness, all four clones suffered the same fate. Their lives were cut short. The fact that these clones had shortened lifespans relates to something Dr. Morris mentioned about the lifespan of clones. Some animals have shorter lifespans than the original. The clone of a clone has an unpredictable one.
It appears as though Isabella, Penny, and Tabitha will be living normal lifespans. 4 years pass by the end of the game, and none of the three surviving clone children seem to have kicked the bucket. Perhaps the same could be said about Andy. So, then, why do the clones made by Black Hole die off so early? Either Black Hole found a way to force their clones to die by command, or their lifetime was cut short by the cloning process.
The Hawke and the Grease Monkey
One final topic I'd like to discuss is the relationship between Andy and Hawke. Hawke is a CO of the Black Hole Army, introduced in AW2. He immediately shows great interest in Andy. Hawke's motivating drive appears to be a quest for power. He stabs Sturm in the back and steals Von Bolt's secret device. Both incidents can be Hawke's attempts at gaining an upper hand; Hawke was most likely to take over for Black Hole, with Sturm dead, and Von Bolt's wheelchair is probably made up of all sorts of crazy science junk.
So, why does Hawke seem to think Andy's someone special? Is he another Eagle, looking for a rival? There are much more spectacular COs out there to ponder about. Perhaps Hawke, in all his sneaky wisdom, knows of Caulder. This could explain the slight mutual trust the two share. Andy and Hawke share a 105% special Tag Power. Hawke may be attempting to infiltrate into Caulder's networks through Andy. Just one more way to try and gain an upper hand.
tl;dr
Many things about Andy point towards the theory that he is a clone of Caulder, and that Caulder has played a hand in the wars in Cosmo, Macro, and Omega Lands. Andy's weak social skills and clueless behavior mask military expertise and an unexplainable power. He shares traits with Caulder's other clone children. Two of the three new units fielded by the Allied Nations of AW:DS are most likely Andy's creations. Caulder probably introduced automated combat units in these lands before taking them to Rubinelle and Lazuria. Caulder may have also taken some of the Allied Nations' ingenuity with him. Andy's clone status may cause him to die at an early age, or maybe not. Finally, Hawke's interest in Andy may not be for as stupid a reason as Eagle's.
Well, that's it. I hope you guys liked my rambling. Feel free to add to this theory, point out weaknesses, offer counter-arguments, maybe some supporting info, anything! Thanks for reading! Don't lose sleep over it! »
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