Randy (ランヂィ) is a former comrade of Captain Silver, who is fighting to avenge his supposed death.
Description[]
Randy is Silver's friend, and they likely fought together in the United States military. Randy is also the original owner of Flint the parrot, who now accompanies Silver. Silver is still in mourning for his lost friend, even after defeating the enemy for Randy's sake.
Although most often Randy is stated to be dead, he is shown as still being alive in one ending of Sonic Wings Special/Sonic Wings Limited if "Another World/Dimension" is the final stage while the player is using Silver in 1P mode. Silver and Flint go to visit Randy's grave, where Randy shows up and asks playfully, "Are you visiting a grave, Captain?" Silver is understandably surprised to see him alive, but in the Japanese version of the scene, Randy explains that he "was never really brain-dead." After their joyful reunion, both Japanese and English versions of the scene say that they "lived happily ever after" (めでたしめでたし).
The exact nature of Randy's supposed death and recovery isn't explained, nor is why he waited so long to contact Silver. One possibility based upon Randy's "never really brain-dead" comment is that he was brainwashed like his inspiration Charlie Nash (see below).
The character Hawk in Sonic Wings Assault was originally intended to be Randy's son. This version of Hawk was going to be strongly attached to Silver, apparently as a surrogate father figure. However, Hawk's design was changed, and this plot line was abandoned.[1]
Inspiration[]
Randy is based on the character Charlie Nash from the Street Fighter series. Charlie has a similar hairstyle and an upturned collar, which accounts for Randy's unusual silhouette. The similarities between the two characters are even more apparent when Charlie is brainwashed and appears as Shadow.
Charlie's relationship with the Street Fighter character Guile is similar to Randy's relationship to Silver. Like Silver and Randy, Guile and Charlie fought together and were best friends. Charlie was also supposedly killed by the enemy, leading Guile, like Silver, to seek vengeance. At the end of Sonic Wings Special and Limited, Silver is shown visiting Randy's grave, as Guile visits Charlie's in Street Fighter II.
