Uka Uka

Uka Uka (ウカ ウカ) is a fictional video game character from the Crash Bandicoot series, and one of the major antagonists of Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. The character also appears as a secondary villain in subsequent installments of the series.

Uka Uka is a floating voodoo mask spirit and the evil twin brother of Aku Aku (Uka Uka's name is "Aku Aku" spelled backwards and vice versa). Uka Uka is the exact opposite of his brother; while Aku Aku is benevolent, calm, patient and empathetic, Uka Uka is malevolent, short-tempered, impatient, and cruel, showing little (if any) happiness throughout the entire series. He is ultimately the driving force behind Doctor Neo Cortex's plot for world domination, and is frequently upset with Cortex for his repeated failures, which usually leads to Uka Uka trying to murder Doctor Cortex.

Conception and creation
Uka Uka was originally created by Naughty Dog as a presence that was able to cause even Doctor Cortex to cower in fear, and bring him to his hands and knees. Emotion sketches of Cortex begging for Uka Uka's forgiveness were the inspiration of the shot design and animation for the cinematic introductory sequence of Warped. For Uka Uka's appearance in Crash of the Titans, a number of different concept designs were conceived (many of them with visible mouths) before the final design was decided on.

Actor portrayal
From Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped to Crash Nitro Kart, Uka Uka's voice is provided by The Shawshank Redemption star Clancy Brown, who also voices Doctor Neo Cortex in the same series. Brown, alongside Mel Winkler and Debi Derryberry, would become one the longest-lasting cast members of the English Crash Bandicoot series, voicing Uka Uka in all but three of his appearances. In Crash Bash, Uka Uka's voice is of a similar tone to that used in Warped, but his speech is choppy and disjointed. Additionally, no voice actors are credited in the game's credits or the manual. It is thereby possible that Uka Uka's (and Aku Aku's) voice is computer-generated. In Crash Twinsanity, Alex Fenandez took over the role of Uka Uka, with Lex Lang taking over the role of Doctor Cortex. In Crash of the Titans, Uka Uka is voiced by Futurama star John DiMaggio, who had previously voiced Tiny Tiger in Crash Nitro Kart. In the Japanese version of the series, Uka Uka is voiced by Shadow the Hedgehog cast member Ryūzaburō Ōtomo, a seiyu in known for his low voice in Japan.

Personality
Like Doctor Neo Cortex, Uka Uka is a psychopathic villain who wants nothing more than the enslavement of mankind and the destruction of the world. Unlike Doctor Cortex (and other clinically diagnosed psychopaths), Uka Uka makes little to no attempt to mask his ruthless behavior, lashing out at anyone when given the chance. What drives Uka Uka toward enslaving and destroying the Earth and its inhabitants is his megalomaniacal sense of entitlement; he believes that he is superior to the point that he often referred to himself as "The Great Uka Uka" in earlier games, though Neo Cortex and Nefarious Tropy have also referred to him as such names out of fear and reverence of him, respectively. In the Japanese versions of the games, this is translated into others addressing him as "Idainaru Uka Uka-sama" (いだいなる ウカ ウカ さま), an honorific that is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself. Although Uka Uka generally dislikes Cortex due to his incompetence, he does occasionally have his generous moments and spares Cortex's life, specifically after Cortex inadvertently sets him free with the ruins of his space station. He is also seen showing something of a respect for Nefarious Tropy, whom he sees as more competent than Neo Cortex. Despite this, Uka Uka largely looks down on everyone around him, especially his benevolent older brother, whom he sees as "feeble".

While Uka Uka's sole purpose in life is to conquer the world, he is more than willing to save the world from threats greater than himself for the sheer purpose of destroying the world himself, unaware of what this threat might be capable of. He usually seeks to obtain the power needed to accomplish this deed with either the Power Crystals or the Gems, which is often the case in most games. When Crash Bandicoot thwarts such plans, he is quick to blame Neo Cortex for such failures, and usually follows this with an attempt to eliminate Cortex, though to this day he has never succeeded in carrying out this deed. Like most evil villains, Uka Uka will also blame everyone around him (especially Cortex) for mistakes he himself makes, as shown near the end of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, in which Uka Uka once again attempts to kill Cortex with a burst of energy, only to hit a vital part of their space station, which causes it to overload. Naturally, Uka Uka pins the blame squarely on Cortex, believing that if he hadn't ducked out of the way, they wouldn't be in this predicament. This is a common symptom of oppositional defiant disorder, which is strongly associated with conduct disorder, the childhood/adolescent precursor of psychopathy.

Uka Uka's fiery temper is reflected in his tendency to shout his words. However, he has since developed a more callous personality in time for Crash of the Titans. Uka Uka's less emotional demeanor is also seen in his redesign: due to the lack of a lower jaw, Uka Uka is less capable of expressing facial emotions. A conversation between two Voodoo Bunnies in the same game implies that Uka Uka has dabbled in bulimia nervosa at one point in his life due to a shame spiral caused by Crash Bandicoot handing him his defeat time and again, and is very self-conscious about not having a proper body as revealed soon after.

Outward appearance
Despite being the brother of Aku Aku, Uka Uka differs greatly from him in terms of physical appearance. Uka Uka is generally larger than his twin brother, and his "skin" is of a black color in contrast to Aku Aku's brown. While Aku Aku possesses a green goatee, Uka Uka sports a large red beard, which becomes a brownish color in later games. This beard is obviously absent in Crash of the Titans, in which Uka Uka lacks the lower jaw needed to possess one. His nose is small and rectangular, as opposed to Aku Aku's long, pointed nose. Lastly, while Aku Aku has four to six feathers attached to his head, Uka Uka sports three bones; one is tied to his forehead, and two are seen dangling on ropes from both sides of his person (though they do not swing with his movements until Crash Twinsanity). Another notable feature is the yellow stripe located on his forehead. In Crash of the Titans, Uka Uka is shown to have undergone a drastic redesign, resembling a large red skull with pointed teeth, large eyebrows, white pupils, and an absent lower jaw. The bones upon his person have also doubled from three to six, with three bones hanging from large feather-like appendages on each of his sides.

Abilities
Uka Uka shares many of the same abilities as his brother, being capable of flight and being able to be worn as a mask to protect whoever wears him. It is hinted at in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped that he can also possess whoever wears him, as evidenced in Cortex's reaction to Uka Uka being removed from his face during the cutscenes shown between levels. This is emphasized in the Japanese dub of the game, in which Doctor Cortex's and Uka Uka's seiyûs speak their lines at the same time whenever Cortex wears Uka Uka. Uka Uka's main method of attack is a small energy volt, which he frequently uses to punish Cortex for getting on his bad side, though this isn't his strongest attack in his arsenal. Much like David Banner in the Ang Lee film Hulk, Uka Uka can create a body out of any form of matter or energy with physical contact, as demonstrated in Crash Twinsanity, in which he assembles a body made out of ice chunks in Doctor Cortex's Iceberg Lab in order to do battle with him and Crash. However, Uka Uka shares any weakness that matter may have, being susceptable to large amounts of fire while inhabiting a body of ice. Uka Uka demonstrates this ability once again in Crash of the Titans, creating a gigantic body made from Wumpa Island's tree with the aid of the Evolvo-Ray.

Past history
The past history of Uka Uka has never been thoroughly explained throughout the series, other than the fact that he was locked away by Aku Aku in an underground prison as to protect the Earth from his will several eons before the events of the series. Hieroglyphics of this event taking place can be seen in the third episode of Crash of the Titans. Despite being twins, Uka Uka is actually younger than Aku Aku (as stated in Titans), which suggests that the latter was the first born of the two.

Present history
Several millennia after his incarceration, Uka Uka recruits Doctor Cortex to fulfill his desire to enslave humanity, only to have Doctor Cortex lose the Crystals and the Gems, and have his space station destroyed. The rubble of the ruined space station eventually crash-lands onto Earth, destroying the underground prison, and finally freeing Uka Uka. Upset with Cortex's failure to retrieve the Crystals and the Gems, Uka Uka recruits Doctor Nefarious Tropy, who has created the Time Twister, which will allow them to collect the Crystals and the Gems in their original places. When Crash intervenes and destroys the Time Twister, Uka Uka is trapped inside a time prison with Doctor Cortex and N. Tropy, who have been turned into infants.

After somehow escaping from the time prison, Uka Uka scolds Cortex and the rest of the villains for their less-than-impressive evil productivity. Fed up with Cortex's incompetence, Uka Uka concludes that if global domination is to ever be achieved, Crash should be handled with personally. Deciding to use Cortex's new super-weapon to wipe out Crash Bandicoot, he revives the Elementals to act as the super-weapon's source of power and bring it to life. When Crash imprisons the Elementals, defeats the super-weapon, and brings it to their side, Uka Uka holds Cortex responsible, and attempts to kill him, but in doing so causes their newly-built space station to overload, forcing Cortex and Uka Uka to evacuate. Their escape pod lands in the depths of Antarctica, preserving both of them in a block of ice. Three years later, Uka Uka is freed from a wall of ice, but is enraged to see that Cortex has teamed up with Crash in order to defeat the Evil Twins, and transforms into an Ice Titan in order to kill both of them. When he is defeated, Uka Uka attempts to flee, but Aku Aku stops him and tells him about the Evil Twins' plot to destroy the Earth. Opposed to the fact that someone else is trying to destroy the world (a job that he believes is his), Uka Uka temporarily teams up with his twin brother, only to be defeated alongside him by the Evil Twins' ability to warp reality. After briefly considering handing Cortex over to the Evil Twins, Uka Uka does not play a major role for the rest of the story.

In Crash of the Titans, Uka Uka teaches Doctor Cortex a new process called Mojo mutations, which uses a magical substance known as Mojo to mutate any living creature into a loyal minion of Cortex. At the Temple of Zoom, Uka Uka leaves Doctor Cortex to destroy Crash and Aku Aku while he returns to the base with an enormous amount of stolen Mojo and Coco Bandicoot at tow. When Cortex fails to defeat Crash, Uka Uka becomes furious, and announces that he is replacing Doctor Cortex, much to the shock of his minions. In a lab on the island's giant tree, Uka Uka expresses his relief with Nina Cortex's higher competance, but senses Aku Aku's prescence nearby. He decides to stay in the lab and kill Crash Bandicoot himself. Uka Uka confronts Crash as the penultimate boss by using Doctor Cortex's Evolvo-Ray on himself, giving him a gargantuan body made from the tree's wood. However, Crash destroys the Evolvo-Ray, defeating Uka Uka, who claims that he will have the last laugh, as Nina is about to launch the Doominator, threatening the existence of Wumpa Island. Uka Uka is absent in the DS version of the game.

Other appearances
Uka Uka (along with Aku Aku) appears as a tutor for the player in the racing games Crash Team Racing and Crash Nitro Kart, giving general tips for the player after a trophy is won. The two masks also act as invincibility power-ups during the races, protecting the player from enemy attacks and wiping out anyone the player touches. Who protects the player depends on whether the character is good or evil, with Aku Aku protecting Crash, Coco, Polar, and Pura (as well as Crunch in the latter games), and Uka Uka protecting Doctor Cortex, N. Gin, Tiny, and Dingodile. While Uka Uka doesn't appear in Crash Tag Team Racing, a gate that resembles a mix between his old model and his new model can be seen in the Mystery Island section of the game.

Uka Uka appears as the captain of the 'Evil Team' in the party game Crash Bash, where he holds a tournament with Aku Aku to decide whether good or evil is truly stronger. During the events of the tournament, Uka Uka decides to use the tournament to gather the Crystals as to use them to obtain ultimate power. Uka Uka also acts as an obstacle during the "Melt Panic" minigame, in which he attacks the players by freezing them, encasing them in giant snowballs, shrinking them, or crushing them with a one-ton weight. The outcome of the tournament depends on who wins the tournament. If Crash, Coco, Tiny, or Dingodile win, Uka Uka's plan is revealed just in time for Aku Aku to protect the Crystals from his clutches. Just before Uka Uka can destroy Cortex and Brio for their incompetence, Aku Aku seals away the Crystals and sends Uka Uka flying into the vacuum of space. However, if Cortex, Brio, Koala Kong, or Rilla Roo win, Uka Uka claims the Crystals and obtains ultimate power. The destruction that stems from this is never revealed. Uka Uka also appears as a purchaseable power-up in the party game Crash, Boom, Bang!.

In the Game Boy Advance installments of the Crash Bandicoot series, Uka Uka shows his usual annoyance with Cortex for failing him one time too many. In Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, Uka Uka recruits Doctor Nefarious Tropy to help him pull off another evil plan, which involves hypnotising the Bandicoots into joining the side of evil. When both N. Trance and Nefarious Tropy are defeated, Uka Uka promises a real adversary in the near future, foreshadowing Nina Cortex's takeover in Crash of the Titans.