Marchrius "Marco" Dennis Rossi is one of the main protagonists in the Metal Slug series.
Character Summary[]
"Pull your finger out and get to the source code." - Marco's pet phrase.
This Italian-American went on to study at the military academy's special technologies college after attending a public technical high school. After graduation, he became a member of the Peregrine Falcons Special Forces Squad (commonly called PF Squad). Although gentle by nature, mentioning General Morden, who is responsible for the deaths of so many of his friends and comrades, will send him into an uncontrolled rage. He's one of the squad's expert agents and an intellectual whose hobby is computer science. A computer virus he created for fun once mistakenly attacked the army's central computer system. Penetrating through all of the security firewalls, the virus almost caused the launch of a nuclear missile. But he'll never admit this.
During the character info screen in Metal Slug SV-001, he is given the logo "Siliconhouse M's -custom build-" with a caricature of himself slouching at a computer desk. His nickname in the same game is "Intelligent Soldier".
Marco's computer science hobby also resulted in the creation of the AI MS-Alice. She was originally a virus that he stole from an unnamed nation, and Alice gained self-awareness after watching him work to bring her to "life". Marco cares deeply for Alice and becomes visibly worried when she becomes critically damaged.
He also takes care of Midori, acting as her guardian and watching out for her safety.
Story[]
Marco, an Italian-American, entered officer's school at the Academy of Special Technologies after attending a state technical high school. Upon graduation, Marco entered the Peregrine Falcons (PF, for short) a special army strike force. He quickly distinguished himself in this squad, known for its severe training, becoming both first lieutenant and PF's leader.
During the first coup led by General Morden, Marco scraped together the shards of the scattered government forces to reassemble PF Squad.
Putting his own fanny on the front lines as leader of the resistance against Morden, Marco heroically battled on. With his close friend and partner, Tarma, he became the hero who buried Morden and restored peace in the world. Through his achievements, he rose to the rank of major.
Marco held the squad together with his pal Tarma, the squad's true linchpin, and took part in the secret mission that crushed Morden's second coup before it could even start. Leading PF Squad in the midst of its reorganization, Marco laid waste, once and for all, to Morden's evil designs.
After his first mission, Marco's resignation was denied when the top brass insisted on his participation in a mission to sweep up the final remains of Morden's army.
Design[]
Marco's physique is based on that of Sylvester Stallone's titular hero from Rambo III, and his looks bare a strong resemblance to David Bowie.
In addition to this, Marco's hair, headband and uniform appear to be modeled after Snake and Bart from SNK's 1988 arcade beat 'em up Datsugoku: P.O.W.
Appearance[]
Marco has blonde choppy hair with a large forelock in front and turquoise eyes (or just black pupils in some artwork). His military gear is a white headband, a white sleeveless shirt, a crimson vest, khaki-green army cargo-pants, and brown paratrooper boots. Usually he wears black wristbands, but some artwork has with black gloves.
Skills[]
In Metal Slug 6 and Metal Slug 7/XX, Marco is most skilled with the Handgun. He can shoot twice as fast with the Handgun and his shots cause double the damage than other characters. Starting from Metal Slug 7, Marco's Salvo (Burst Shot in XX) ability allows him to rapidly fire weapons by holding Up + Fire + Special. The only downside is that while firing he can't move.
Voice Actors[]
- Takenosuke Nishikawa - Neo Geo Battle Coliseum - present
- Eric Summerer - Metal Slug 3D
- Kenta Miyake - Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting.
Crossover Appearances[]
- SNK Vs. Capcom: CHAOS: Marco makes a very small appearance in the Mars People's ending of the game alongside Tarma Roving, Fio Germi and Eri Kasamoto as they move into battle against the Mars People that are attacking New York.
- SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium: Olympic mode only
- Neo-Geo Battle Coliseum: Marco appears as a playable character in this game, using many Metal Slug weapons on his attacks. He uses the Heavy Machine Gun, Iron Lizard, Grenades, Knife, Punching Glove, also calling the Metal Slug and Hyakutaro.
- Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting: Playable character
- NeoGeo Battle Coliseum
- The King of Fighters XIII: In the Egypt stage, passing mention in Women Fighters story
- The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match: Background cameo alongside Eri Kasamoto
- SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS: Marco appears as one of the obtainable cards in the game. His special ability is to give 600 pts. of damage to the opponent when counterattacking.
- Days of Memories 2: Minor appearance in Fio's story
- The King of Fighters 2
- Garou Densetsu Special
- KOF: Maximum Impact 2: Ralf Jones Normal Outfit-Variation G
- Battle Cats: Rare Cat
Trivia[]
- Marco's favorite dish is Chinese American noodles.
- The name "Marco Rossi" may be a nod to the football players of the same name or an homage to the protagonist of the anime series, 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (where Fio and Peppino's (her teddy bear) names also come from).
- It's also similar to "Mario Rossi", an Italian generic name equivalent to "John Doe".
- Metal Slug Advance is the only game in the Metal Slug series where Marco cameos but is not a playable character nor shows up in person, though he appears in the game's box cover with Eri Kasamoto cheering on both new PF Squad recruits Walter Ryan and Tyra Elson.
- In Metal Slug 3, near the end of the game, the character who has been abducted leads you to a Metal Slug and the large exit door. They then type on the panel, and then kick it after it fails to work. Marco and Fio do not, hinting at their proficiency with computers.
- One of Marco's alternate outfits in Metal Slug: Awakening is a reference to Soldier 76 from Overwatch.
Gallery[]
_III-stock.png "MSA unit SV-001 Type-R(Marco) III-stock.png (3 KB)")
