Big Boss (C.O.P.S.)

Big Boss and Scratch are cartoon characters and action figures in the C.O.P.S. (Central Organization of Police Specialists) series from Hasbro which ran from 1988-1989.

Brandon "Big Boss" Babel
Big Boss is Empire City's worst nightmare. He is Empire City's most nefarious of all criminals and the mastermind behind the Crooks organization that's made up entirely of professional burglars, muggers, and thieves. Big Boss, however, will not tolerate illegal drugs and used his influence to keep them out of Empire City (unknown to the authorities, though). He rules the criminal world with a literal iron fist, using his cybernetic left hand to smash things when enraged, especially his desk (in the comic adaptation). He talks like Edward G. Robinson, nearly always uttering a soft spoken 'mahh' as he speaks to himself, his thugs, foes, or anyone else.

In the toy series, as well as once in the episode The Case of C.O.P.S. File #1, he is seen carrying a strange cane he uses as a rifle weapon. Surprisingly fast and agile, despite being a grossly obese 350 pound man, Big Boss makes sure that no criminal caper goes on without him knowing about it and giving his approval. He's also never without his personal yes-man named Squeeky Kleen, who serves Big Boss hand and foot. He is seen with three moles on the upper left hand corner of his forehead and a white suit with about four police badges on them that he uses as trophies after he brought down four police officers who foolishly dared to challenge him to battle and lost.

Although he is a ruthless crime lord, he is morally opposed to drugs, as referenced in "The Case of the Lowest Crime". After Buttons McBoomBoom brings a drug dealer to Big Boss' headquarters, Big Boss promptly turns down any business relationship with the dealer, with the reasoning that "Drugs kill."

In the comic series, Big Boss has a personal grudge against Bulletproof for sending his twin brother, the Crime Boss of New York City, to prison. Big Boss's brother later died in confinement — thus nephew Berserko (his brother's son in the comics) ended up under his care, much to Big Boss's constant annoyance.

Big Boss shares similarities with such other criminal villains as Lex Luthor, the Kingpin and Rupert Thorne, with one exception — he is never shown to be involved in any legitimate business practices. It is assumed all his wealth comes from crime.

Scratch
Big Boss is never without Scratch who keeps him company everywhere he goes at all times. Scratch is Big Boss' pet weasel, who (in the cartoon) has large eyes, metal paws, and a cybernetic body armor that bears no spikes on his back, while the toy and comic adaptations depicts him to have spines on his back and a less cartoonish look. He is known to jump when easily startled by Big Boss' iron fist which he pounds right next to him on the desk to make his point across. One time he's seen with a jet pack placed on him in The Case of the Prison Break-in by Big Boss who sent him to deliver the de-controller to Rock Krusher who plans to use it to imprison the prison guards and take over Graystone Prison.

C.O.P.S. For Kids
As was common with cartoons of the 1980s, each of the COPS episodes ended with an educational epilogue segment entitled C.O.P.S. for Kids, where a Crime Prevention or Safety tip is given by one of the characters of the show. In an unusual move, one of these segments was hosted by Big Boss, who along with Squeeky, discussed the danger of flashing your money around. This is unusual, as villainous characters are normally restricted from this duty in a children's show, unless they are cast in the role of the "bad example".

Reception
Rupert de Paula writes that "C.O.P.S. centered on the story of Baldwin ‘Bulletproof’ Vess, a sort of techno Elliot Ness, and his crusade to bring down Brandon ‘Big Boss’ Babel, the cat-loving, iron-fisted mafia godfather of Empire City." Topless Robot ranks Big Boss seventh on its list of "The 10 Fatest Action Figures of All Time" noting, "The main villain of COPS took the 'big' part of his name to heart. You can’t have a bad Edward G. Robinson impersonation coming out of a skinny guy, anyways. The robot hand was genius."