Captain Vladimir Taktarov (Капитан Владимир, Kapitan Vladimir; ウラジミール船長, Urajimiiru Senchou) is a character in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. He is the third-ranked UAA assassin, as the name suggests he is an ex-Russian cosmonaut who seems to think that he is still somewhere in space, and that the Cold War is still on, expressing surprise upon seeing Travis claiming that he was "followed by an American." He dies after his fight with Travis.
Appearence and Personality
Vladimir is an old cosmonaut who wears his space suit as he believes he hasn't left space. He is surrounded by electrical equipment.
Story
Travis Touchdown encounters him in a patch of farmland after driving there on the Schpeltiger MK-||. Throughout the fight Vladimir constantly requests for backup from his space station. He attacks Travis mainly with a laser beam produced by his suit as well as a series of lasers which are produced by his mothership which impede your reaching him, as well as attacking Travis with large rocks he is able to lift and shoot at Travis. He is also able to defend himself using a light shield making his only weak point his back, although he can still be hit with melee attacks with the shield up. Occasionally, he will make contact with his space station and summon a giant laser, which is an instant kill. When Travis defeats him, he cracks his helmet, harming him in the process, during which he realizes that he made it back to earth and begins to talk about how beautiful it is. When Sylvia shows up, Travis becomes angered at Sylvia because of the battle with Ryuji and demands she let him rest in peace despite her allegations. She lets him peacefuly die and we are treated to a shot of his empty space suit. What became of his body is a mystery, with even Sylvia questioning in the aftermath of the game's events, "Did the hero survive?" The only way you actually know that Captain Vladimir was dead (assuming that he is) is the scene that says Captain Vladimir: Dead.
Powers and Abilities
Vladimir's main form of attack is by using lasers either from his suit or a giant laser in space called "Volk". He is also capable of raising boulders from the ground and throwing them at Travis. His suit also allows him to generate a force field, but it can be disabled. He can levitate and teleport at high speed.
Trivia
- Captain Vladimir is, along with Dr. Letz Shake and Speed Buster, one of the few bosses Travis can't use a suplex on. In this case it is due to him being floating during the entire match.
- Given that Captain Vladimir's voice actor, Paul Eiding, is famous for his role as Colonel Campbell in the Metal Gear Solid series, it's entirely possible that Captain Vladimir is a homage to the Fury of Metal Gear Solid 3.
- Due to the fact that he did not even know he was on Earth, it is likely that he received the third spot when he killed the previous third without knowing about the UAA, or the UAA may have taken advantage of the fact he did not know where he was.
- The console on Vladimir's chest is similar in design to a NES controller.