Duke Nukem is a computer game character that first appeared in an Apogee platform game of the same name, which was published in 1991. This game was written for the IBM PC compatible, and featured 320x200, 16-color EGA graphics with vertical and horizontal scrolling. The original game was comprised of three episodes, the first of which was distributed using the shareware method. A sequel, entitled Duke Nukem II, was published by Apogee in 1993. This incarnation took advantage of 320x200, 256-color VGA graphics as well as horizontal and vertical scrolling. Despite how stunning the graphics appear for 1993, only 16 colors were actually used on-screen at once; however, three different 16-color palettes were used in the game.

The first Duke game was titled Duke Nukem, but Apogee learned that this name might have already been trademarked, so they changed it to Duke Nukum for the 2.0 revision. The name was later discovered not to be trademarked, so the spelling Duke Nukem was restored for Duke Nukem II and all successive Duke games, and is preferred even when referring to the original.

The character is now best-known from the first-person shooter game Duke Nukem 3D, developed by Apogee's 3D Realms division and released in 1996. Duke Nukem 3D was one of the most controversial games at the time due to its gratuitous violence, strong language and racy content.

Though initially a disgruntled TV viewer who took offense to Doctor Proton interrupting the soap operas, Duke's personality in all his games since Duke Nukem 3D was that of a womanizer, and his missions generally involved killing aliens that had invaded Earth to enslave the women.

A live action Duke Nukem movie has been announced but no casting decisions have been made public as of January 2005.

Some of Duke's catchphrases, voiced by Jon St. John:

• "Hail to the king, baby!" (a reference to Army of Darkness)
• "Come get some!" (a reference to Full Metal Jacket)
• "Shake it, baby!"
• "Let's rock!" (a reference to Aliens)
• "It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all outta gum" (a reference to They Live)
• "I'm Duke Nukem, and I'm coming to get the rest of you alien bastards!"
• "Makin' Bacon!"
• "Groovy!" (a line from Evil Dead 2)
• "Nobody steals our chicks... And lives"
• "Mmm... That's one doomed space marine!" (a reference to Doom)
• "Somebody is gonna freakin' pay for screwing up my vacations!"
• "Wow... I make this look good!"
• "Time flies when you're kickin' ass!"
• "Damn, I'm looking good!"
• "I'll be done with you and still have time to watch Oprah!" (In Duke Nukem 1)
• "Mhh... Don't have time to play with myself!" (this comes after Duke sees an arcade of the earlier Duke Nukem games)
• "I'm going to rip off your head and shit down your neck" (he says to a boss before he fights it. Then afterwards he rips off its head, pulls down his pants, sits on the neck and reads a newspaper. Also a reference to Full Metal Jacket)
• "Yippie-ki-ay motherf*cker!" (a reference to Die Hard - bleeped out in-game)
• (crackings his knuckles) "What are you waiting for, Christmas?"
• "That's gotta hurt"
• "I ain't afraid of no quake" (a reference to the soon to be released Quake)
• "Hehe, what a mess"
• "Your face, your ass, what's the difference?"
• "Let god sort 'em out" (after killing a lot of monsters)
• "The last thing what will go through your mind before you die is my size 12 boot"

The Duke games

As of 2005, there have been three "main" Duke Nukem games, and a number of other games in which the article starred:

• Duke Nukem (later Duke Nukum) - 1991 - MS-DOS
• Duke Nukem II - 1993 - MS-DOS
• Duke Nukem 3D - 1996 - MS-DOS

A long-promised sequel to Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem Forever, is still in production after several years of development.

Other Duke games

• Duke Nukem 64 - 1997 - Nintendo 64
• Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown - 1997 - PlayStation
• Duke Nukem: Time to Kill - 1998 - PlayStation
• Duke Nukem 3D - 1998 - Sega Mega Drive (ported by Tec Toy under license)
• Duke Nukem: Zero Hour - 1999 - Nintendo 64
• Duke Nukem - 1999 - Game Boy Color (not the same as the MS-DOS game)
• Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes - 2000 - PlayStation
• Duke Nukem Advance - 2002 - Game Boy Advance
• Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project - 2002 - Microsoft Windows
• Duke Nukem Mobile - 2005 - Tapwave Zodiac

Additionally, Duke Nukem has made cameo appearances in a few other Apogee games. He appeared in Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure (1992) and Death Rally (1996). Additionally, there was a Duke Nukem table in the 1998 pinball title Balls of Steel from Apogee's Pinball Wizards division—the title Balls of Steel is a reference to a pinball machine seen in Duke Nukem 3D.

External links

• 3D Realms Official website (http://www.3drealms.com/)
• Duke Central - Informative fansite on Duke Nukem I and II (http://www.spatang.com/nukem)
• PlanetDuke - Home of the official Duke Nukem Forever FAQ (http://www.planetduke.com/)
• Duke Nukem The Movie (http://www.dukenukemthemovie.com/)
• Duke Nukem Movie (includes leaked teaser trailer) (http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/dukenukem/)

A different, unrelated Duke Nukem was also a villain on the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. This Duke Nukem was a radioactive mutant, portraying the dangers of nuclear pollution.